Faded Eternity
by Quicksilver Fallen
Summary: A Belated Year Five Fiction... The war with the Dark Lord is drawing closer than ever, new places, new faces, and new challenges await. Malfoy faces an unknown future, and Harry becomes a leader. Humor, Angst, and Drama beckons- Now Read and Review!
1. Paths Crossed

Forgiven, Fallen  
  
By Quicksilver Fallen  
  
Author's Note: This is NOT in any way a slash or romance story. Anyone is welcome to read it, for it is not insulting to anyone. If someone finds the story offensive, please talk to me, and we can sort it out.  
  
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of these characters, except for Val Lethon, okay?  
  
Harry Potter hoisted his groggy self up from a warm bed. It was September 1st, the beginning of his new term. He walked swiftly down the creaky stairs to the kitchen, bumping into a bleary-eyed Ron Weasley.  
  
"OW!" yelled Ron, "What'd you do that for Harry?' he asked, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Sorry Ron- Didn't see you there." Answered Harry, who was trying to work a magical toaster. He wanted to get to Hogwarts as soon as possible. It seemed Ron wanted to do the exact opposite.  
  
A plump woman with flaming red hair, Mrs. Weasley, pulled up a chair and sat down at the kitchen table.  
  
"We'd best be going soon." She stated, looking at the clock, "The train leaves in two hours. Ron, you have your things packed?"  
  
"Yes Mum." Said Ron with a stifled yawn; "I'm so tired."  
  
"Serves you right for going to bed so late. Now go wake up your sister, Fred, and George." The woman ordered.  
  
"Yes Mum." Obeyed Ron with another yawn as he walked like a zombie towards the hallway.  
  
"Seems you're up and ready to go, Harry." Remarked Mrs. Weasley.  
  
"Cant wait 'till we get to Hogwarts." Said Harry.  
  
"I see that." said Mrs. Weasley with a chuckle.  
  
Fred and George stumbled into the kitchen. They had obviously dressed while they were half-asleep. George's sweater was inside out, and Fred was wearing a large sock on his head, having mistaken it for a hat. Ron and Harry stifled their laughter. Ginny walked timidly into the room, blushing a fierce shade of red when she met Harry's gaze.  
  
They all sat down to eat a rushed breakfast, each of them stuffing food into their mouths. Ron has finished gulping down his orange juice, and Mrs. Weasley announced,  
  
"Okay, we should be off." She motioned to the door, and they jumped into a few black cars supplied by the ministry,  
  
Hedwig didn't have such a great time in the car, Fred's Wet-Start, Filibuster Fireworks exploded next to her cage when George spilled a bottle of water. The fireworks has singed her feathers and dented her cage, making her an irritable and annoying owl for a while.  
  
The car stopped abruptly outside London Station. They all walked in, and easily found Platform 9 ¾. Harry and Ron met up with Hermione in compartment 3.  
  
"Hello Harry, I missed you! You too Ron!" she shouted gleefully, her lap filled with books.  
  
"Hey Hermione," questioned Ron, "Don't you ever stop it with the books?"  
  
"Arithmancy is a wonderful subject Ron! Come on and sit down." Harry and Ron did so. The rest of the compartment was near empty. There was a group of Ravenclaws, and near the back of the compartment sat a girl none of them had ever seen before. She had short blond hair, a fair, thin face, blue eyes, and was already wearing her Hogwarts robes. She looked around the age of a 5th year.  
  
"Who's she?" Harry asked Hermione in a whisper. "I haven't seen her before, and she's definitely not a 1st year,"  
  
"I don't know," answered Hermione, "You ask her yourself."  
  
"I will then." Said Harry with a determined grin, as he headed over to the blonde girl, who was drawing something in a sketchbook.  
  
"I haven't seen you here." Harry said to the stranger. "What's your name?"  
  
"Val." She answered, "Val Lethon."  
  
"My name's Harry Potter. You're new to Hogwarts?"  
  
Val's eyebrows raised involuntarily at the words 'Harry Potter' but she kept the conversation going.  
  
"Yes, I'm a transfer. From Durmstrang."  
  
Harry paused for a moment. At Durmstrang kids were taught the Dark Arts, and the headmaster of the school was an ex-Death-Eater. However, Viktor Krum, who was from Durmstrang, was very nice. Harry figured he shouldn't be prejudiced against Val.  
  
"Which house do you think you'll be in?" he asked her curiously, hoping she'd be in Gryffindor. It seemed to be the better house at welcoming people.  
  
"Slytherin." She said shortly, almost as if she desired to be in that dark house.  
  
"Seriously? You know," he lowered his voice to an almost-whisper, "Slytherin turned out a lot of Dark Wizards. I doubt you want to be serving Voldem- I mean, You-Know-Who."  
  
"No, I don't. I just think I'll be in Slytherin. I doubt that it's really that bad." Val said with confidence in her voice.  
  
"It is that bad." Answered Harry.  
  
"I have a feeling you're against the Slytherin house." Said Val, with some sarcasm in her voice. Harry was oddly reminded of Professor Trelawney, always having feelings about things and making lame predictions, she was.  
  
"Well yeah." Harry admitted. "Draco Malfoy has been making my life miserable since day 1. Him and his gelled up hair. he thinks he's so perfect, going around calling people Mudbloods." Harry told her, a deep hatred soaking his words.  
  
"What?" broke in Val, "What's so bad about the word Mudblood?"  
  
"You're kidding me. Mudblood is a horrible insult for someone to hear." Replied Harry; this girl was confusing him.  
  
"At my old school, they use it all the time."  
  
"Oh." said Harry with realization, "I suggest you not say it around here, people, including me, really take offense."  
  
"Thanks, Ill be sure not to say that here." Said Val, "So, about this Draco character, I should avoid him?"  
  
"If you're a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, yes. He's a lazy prejudiced git."  
  
"Hmm. I'll take that advice. I prefer to stay on the better side of people."  
  
"Me too," replied Harry, "I guess Ill see you around."  
  
"See ya." Said Val as Harry turned to leave, and she turned back to her sketchbook.  
  
Harry approached Ron and Hermione.  
  
"Soo. Who was she?" asked Ron, his eyes glinting with curiosity.  
  
"Val Lethon, she's from Durmstrang."  
  
"Really?" questioned Hermione, "Did she say anything about Viktor?" she had gotten close to Krum after she had stayed with him over the holidays. Some were starting to spread rumors of love blossoming. Ron refused to believe them.  
  
"Nope, the one thing she said about her school was that everyone said Mudblood (Hermione flinched) a lot." Said Harry to his two friends while munching on a chocolate frog.  
  
"Which house do you think she'll be in?" asked Hermione yet again, oddly curious about this new girl.  
  
"She thinks Slytherin, and I think she likes it." Replied Harry with disgust.  
  
"Either she doesn't know what she's talking about, or she's plain old mad." Said Ron with a snicker.  
  
"I doubt both of those. She had some sense. I think her parents are Death- Eaters."  
  
"Oh come on you two!" broke in Hermione, "Don't cook up rumors about someone we've just met! She's not a Malfoy."  
  
"She seemed cool on the subject of Malfoy though, as if the fact that his parents are Death-Eater's didn't scare her in the least bit." Said Harry in a whisper.  
  
"Give her a chance Harry, she might be in Gryffindor, you never know. I hope she is." Remarked Hermione.  
  
"Me too." Said Ron and Harry at the same time; all of them giggled at the irregular timing of their remarks.  
  
"Wonder where Malfoy's gotten to," commented Ron, as if he were talking about the clouds in the sky, "Wouldn't we have heard a ton of his fat lip by now?"  
  
"Probably skulking somewhere with Crabbe and Goyle." Answered Harry darkly.  
  
At that precise moment the compartment's door creaked open, Draco Malfoy slipping silently into the opening. His skin, if possible, was paler than ever imaginable, a haunting white. His silver-gray eyes were blank, his face emotionless. His robes hung extremely loose around his body, making it look like he had lost 35 pounds in two days. Malfoy sat in the very back of the compartment with out an insult, or even a word. He was completely alone.  
  
"Speak of the Devil, literally." Muttered Ron.  
  
"Wonder what's up with him." commented Hermione, a little above a whisper to ensure Malfoy couldn't hear.  
  
"Maybe mean old Daddy probwy didn't get little Draco a Firebwolt like he pwomised." said Ron into Harry and Hermione's ears, imitating a baby's voice. All three of them burst into laughter. In the back, Malfoy seemed unaffected by this, resting his pointed chin in his hands, his eyes gazing out the window.  
  
The train slowed to a stop as Val put her notebook back into her pack. She tried to shake off her nervous feelings, as everyone got off the train. Val stepped out onto the pavement, and got her first look at Hogwarts.  
  
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~Quicksilver Fallen~ 


	2. A Dream of Death

Faded Eternity  
  
Chapter Two- A Dream of Death  
  
Author's Note- Special thanks to oliverwoodsgirl, she gave me my first review, and that is why you are seeing this chapter being written. ^_^  
  
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They were welcomed into the warm and well-decorated Great Hall. They witnessed the Sorting, in which the last name called was "Volteth, Sean!" who was thrown into Slytherin. Everyone was so hungry; a few were attempting to magic food onto their plates. Then all of a sudden they realized the Sorting Hat had not been put away. Professor McGonagall stood up with an announcement.  
  
"This year at Hogwarts," she began, "We have a transfer student from Durmstrang. She is the first we have had in over 100 years." Almost everyone was looking around wildly to spot the student, a few just waited for McGonagall to continue, "I call Val Lethon up to be sorted." She finished at last.  
  
The students curiously stared as Val nervously made her way to the stool. She sat down and placed the hat on her head, careful not to make any embarrassing mistakes. Immediately the gruff voice of the hat echoed throughout the halls.  
  
"Hmm." The hat thought out loud, "Too much brains to be in Hufflepuff." at this the Hufflepuff's faces showed looks of outrage, as the Slytherins were practically on the floor with laughter. Val was fighting to keep her face straight. It took Professor McGonagall to hush them until it was okay for the hat to continue.  
  
"Not the type of person to be in Gryffindor. isn't afraid to break the rules." the Hat seemed to go on forever. "Very clever! Ravenclaw would be a good match for you." The Slytherin's faces fell a bit, they obviously wanted to be the house that had the transfer. Yet the hat STILL went on. "But wait! Quite the ambitious one, Ravenclaw is not for you then." The hat FINALLY concluded and then shouted across the hall.  
  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
  
The Hufflepuff's faces were furious, the Ravenclaws shrugged, and the Gryffindors had a look of disgust branded on their faces while the Slytherin table exploded with welcome as Val made her way over to them.  
  
Draco Malfoy seemed unaffected by the whole ordeal. He was looking at Val with a clouded, cold look on his face, no attention paid to the food on the table, He looked back down to the ground with a pained haze over his features.  
  
The entire table of Slytherins greeted her, and a pale girl with black hair motioned for her to sit next to her. Val took the seat gladly.  
  
"Hi. I'm Blaise. Blaise Zambini." She said to Val. "Good to see you in Slytherin."  
  
"Everyone else seems to have the same thoughts." Answered Val, casting a smile over the cheering Slytherins.  
  
"Yeah. Us Slytherins haven't had many triumphs lately. Maybe that will change this year." Replied Blaise.  
  
"Let's hope it does." said Val.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
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Meanwhile on the other side of the Great Hall, things weren't so great.  
  
"I told you." Said Harry to his two friends," She's a Slytherin."  
  
"Well I didn't think she'd be. She didn't seem like one." Cut back Hermione.  
  
"So? Who cares about her? She'll just wind up being another one of Draco's lackeys." Said Ron with an air of disgust directed at Val.  
  
"Yeah, I'll bet she will." said Harry, taking a stab at his steak with a fork. He paused though, when he saw Malfoy. His head was bent towards the ground, ignoring the plate of food in front of him, He seemed to be refusing to eat.  
  
"Hold on a second," said Harry, "Look at Malfoy."  
  
"What? Why the hell do I want to look at that git?!"  
  
"He's not eating."  
  
"So? Like I care?" burst out Ron. "Wait, Maybe he's joined S.P.E.W.!" exclaimed Ron with ecstasy, "Hermione! You've gotten yourself a new member!"  
  
Harry and Ron burst out laughing at a very cross Hermione.  
  
"C'mon you two!" she said with exasperation, "There has to be some reason he's not eating besides the saving of House Elves!"  
  
"Whatever Hermione," snipped back Ron, "But when we see him holding up a S.P.E.W banner, we'll have the last laugh."  
  
"Oh shut up!" she spat back coyly.  
  
And with a small bicker, all thoughts of Malfoy were erased from their minds.  
  
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Gryffindor Common Room- later that night.  
  
Harry sat down in front of the blazing fireplace with Ron and Hermione, who both had their glares switched to a medium leer in the presence of Harry. The Gryffindors were chatting angrily about how the Sorting Hat had "rudely insulted" Gryffindor. The Weasley Twins had whipped themselves up into a frenzy, screaming things like, 'She's not in Gryffindor because she's not afraid to break the rules?! What does that hat think WE are? A bunch of arse-kissing pansies?!?!?!?' and "We could break enough rules to turn all the Slytherins into ferrets for ten years!" They all came to the conclusion of "Malfoy must've sabotaged that hat, the slimy git, to get the transfer in his house!"  
  
Harry listened half-heartedly to all of the talk. He even considered telling them she wanted to be in Slytherin, but he figured he'd just let the twins pull an embarrassing stunt on Malfoy. He needed a laugh. He dozed off into a dream of Malfoy being tricked with the Ton-Tongue-Toffee, when the wonderful dream violently morphed into a cruelly vivid flashback.  
  
~^~There was a great clash of lightning, lighting up the pale, thin, serpentine features of Voldemort. His emotions showed that of anger, his crimson eyes glowing in the night. His forked tongue lashed out in fury, as he began to speak.  
  
"So, this his how my close Death-Eater keeps his SECRECY!" he hissed in rage, "SPYING for Dumbledore! CRUCIO!"  
  
The Death-Eater groveled on the floor in pain, his body writhing with flaming agony. His hood stayed up as he tried in vain to get his voice to work. The rain was pounding on the window so hard, Harry could barely make out the words he was trying to say.  
  
"M-Master. I. never. spy. f-. fo-. for..Dumbl-"  
  
"You DARE lie to me repeatedly? I thought you could sink no lower!"  
  
The pain of the Death-Eater subsided as Voldemort raised his wand.  
  
"You know what happens to traitors, my friend."  
  
The Death-Eater's body began to shake.  
  
"But first, I want you to watch something I had planned." The evil serpent wrenched a figure out of a doorway behind him and pointed his wand at its head. Its' body was covered with the shadows, and Harry couldn't even make out whether it was a male or female. The Death-Eater cried out,  
  
"No! Please no. please. not my wife. have mercy!"  
  
"I have no mercy for traitors." Retorted Voldemort, "Avada Kedavra!" He yelled. A flash of blinding green light ripped into the figure's body. The figure fell limp into the darkness. The Death-Eater shook with sobs, as Voldemort turned his wand on him. There was another flash of green light, and he too, lay limp.  
  
Perhaps in his rage Voldemort did not notice, but peeking through the doorway, a dark figure watched the brutal murder, tears running down his face.~^~  
  
Harry woke up to his lightning scar burning in agony. He grasped his head tightly; hoping no one had noticed him doze off. Unfortunately for Harry, the entire common room was staring at him, worry smeared across their scared faces.  
  
"Wh- what did you see Harry?" asked a pale Hermione quietly.  
  
"Nothing. Just- just nothing." he said as he dragged himself slowly towards the dormitories.  
  
He bumped right into Ron.  
  
"You couldn't have seen nothing Harry. I'll keep the secret safe." He said in a whisper.  
  
"Voldemort killed one of his Death-Eaters a while ago." Said Harry.  
  
"So?" asked Ron, "Isn't that a good thing?"  
  
"I don't know. Voldemort said he was spying for Dumbledore, but the Death- Eater kept telling him he wasn't. If a spy was killed, that's not a good thing," replied Harry, "Now I'm going to try to get to bed. We'll worry about it in the morning."  
  
"I agree, No point getting ourselves worked up now. We'll tell Dumbledore later." Said a feminine voice from the doorway.  
  
"Hermione, stop eavesdropping and get back to sleep," said an annoyed Harry as he lay himself into his bed, and a restless night.  
  
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A/N thanks again to oliverwoodsgirl and please review!  
  
~Quicksilver Fallen~  
  
PS- Can you guess who the Death-Eater who died was? Tell me in your review if you can! 


	3. Secrets Not Yet Revealed

Faded Eternity  
  
Quicksilver Fallen  
  
Author's Note- Extra special thanks to oliverwoodsgirl, Starry, BookCrazy77, and meethzoonk! You guys really keep me writing! Please keep the reviews coming!  
  
As for the answers to your guesses. One of you was completely right! The actual answer will be in one of the next couple chapters. ^-^  
  
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~The Great Hall, the Next Day~  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione walked briskly to the Gryffindor table, eagerly awaiting the Owl post. Hermione was in the middle of finishing her bacon, when the Daily Prophet landed flat on her head.  
  
"OUCH!" shouted Hermione, rubbing a small bump on her forehead.  
  
Ron chuckled at Hermione, and returned to the topic of last night's conversation, "So Harry, are you going to tell us what your dream was about?"  
  
"I told you Ron, Voldemort killed a Death Eater, who was a supposed spy."  
  
"Which one? Avery, Nott, MacNair, Crabbe, Goyle, Snape, Malfoy???" guessed Ron.  
  
"Well, Id count out Malfoy, he wouldn't be a spy."  
  
"And you could've told if it was him because of his voice, couldn't you?" asked Ron.  
  
"Well, I can't really count on the voice idea, because the rain pounding on the windows was so hard, I could barely make out what he was saying, let alone what his voice sounded like. I couldn't even make out a Malfoy's drawl in that noise."  
  
"What about Crabbe?"  
  
"I doubt it. Crabbe's son over there looks perfectly normal to me, I don't think he looks like he's just lost his parents. The same with Goyle.' Answered Harry once again.  
  
"So that leaves us with Nott, MacNair, Avery, and Malfoy." Stated Ron, "Wait. I've got it! That Val girl! You said her parents were probably Death- Eaters! It could've been them! That's why she transferred to Hogwarts, so she could move in with a relative!"  
  
"We can't really say that, her parents weren't at the Death-Eater meeting I witnessed, but it is still possible." Said Harry quietly.  
  
"Hmm. Nott? Macnair?" questioned Ron.  
  
A loud scoff interrupted them. It belonged to Hermione.  
  
"Don't you know?' she asked, "Macnair and Nott don't have wives, the Death- Eater in Harry's dream had a wife. So that's impossible."  
  
"And how do you know that?" spat Ron, "I wouldn't think you would be the type to look up Death-Eater's love affairs."  
  
"For your information, I read a book that gave information on the people tried in court for being Death-Eaters. Nott and Macnair are unmarried.  
  
"As usual." Said Ron, "Every single thing Hermione knows comes from some heavy book."  
  
"Shh, Ron. At least now we only have 4 people left, Snape, Malfoy, Avery, and Val's parents." Harry cut off Ron.  
  
"I could ask Val if her parents are dead." Volunteered Hermione.  
  
"Okay, that could lower us to 3 suspects. if her parents weren't the ones killed." Said Ron.  
  
Ron turned to Harry; "I wonder who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is." He thought aloud.  
  
"I don't know Ron, no one was in the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's seat at the feast last night." Answered Harry, "I hope Snape's dreams of being a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher didn't come true."  
  
Ron's eyes widened with the very thought of Snape being the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.  
  
"Its okay Ron, we don't know for sure that he's the teacher." Assured Harry.  
  
"I know that, but it's still a possibility, isn't it?" questioned Ron.  
  
"Shut up you two, Snape cannot take two jobs at once!" corrected Hermione.  
  
"Whatever." Came Harry and Ron's reply.  
  
Ron pulled out his schedule, and let out a gasp. "Oh no Harry! It's Defense Against the Dark Arts for our first class!"  
  
"Well then we'd better be going Ron." Spat Hermione, and they were off.  
  
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~Defense Against the Dark Arts class~  
  
The class sat in silence, awaiting a mystery teacher. There was a sudden swish of a cloak, and a woman stood before them. She had shoulder length black hair, dark almond eyes, and tanned skin. She wore black velvet robes. She pulled out her wand and wrote simply in the air, 'Loreena Isis." In sparkling emerald words.  
  
"I am Loreena Isis, and welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. In this class you will learn to protect yourself against the worst of all enemies, and even learn some secrets of the Enemy as well." I was an auror taught to climb into the inner rungs of the Dark Lord's circle, and capture Death- Eater's swiftly and silently."  
  
She paused to let these facts sink in, many of the students shuddered. Harry hung onto every word, noticing Malfoy's eyes widen, perhaps in fear, when she spoke of knowing those in the Dark Lords inner circle. Professor Isis noticed the fear hovering like a fog around the room.  
  
"Do not be afraid, you must be brave to conquer evil." She said to the class.  
  
Many tried to make it seem like they were courageous, but wound up looking even more scared than before.  
  
"Now, who here has witnessed an Unforgivable Curse?" she asked boldly.  
  
Everyone raised their hands, Harry noticed Val had too, even though she hadn't been there when Moody showed them the Unforgivables.  
  
"Who here has preformed one?" she questioned.  
  
No one raised their hands, Harry looked curiously at Draco, and then at Val to see if they were going to, but they didn't.  
  
"That's where we will begin then." She stated, "Professor Dumbledore has given me special permission to teach you how to perform one." She said shortly. "Now who's up for the challenge?"  
  
The entire class was petrified, none of them had the courage to volunteer.  
  
Isis's eyes targeted Malfoy, "Draco Malfoy, I presume?" she asked. Draco merely nodded.  
  
"Come up here, I'm sure you have the power needed to perform such a curse." She said slyly, her eyes penetrating Malfoy, as if she knew all the secrets he was hiding.  
  
Draco stood up and made his way cautiously to the front of the room. The professor transfigured the quill on her desk into a rat, and nodded for Draco to pull out his wand.  
  
"Now focus all of your energy, your being, your very soul, unto your wand."  
  
Draco did so, concentrating hard on the wand.  
  
"Imagine the green burst of light coming out of your wand, target the rat, and shout the incantation, "Avada Kedavra'." She commanded, watching Malfoy with interest.  
  
Malfoy's sharp eyes stalked the rat, and he yelled, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"  
  
There was a blinding flash of green light, as the soul was sucked out of the rat's body. There lay the rat, completely lifeless.  
  
"Mister Malfoy," the professor started, "you seem quite experienced with this curse, I only would have expected a trained 7th year to have achieved that. How come you didn't raise your hand at the beginning of class when I asked for those who have preformed an unforgivable to raise their hand?"  
  
Malfoy remained silent, his jaw firm and his eyes indifferent. The teacher sighed, shook her head and motioned for him to sit down. The rest of the class time was spent taking notes on the Avada Kedavra curse and how it is cast.  
  
After class, there were big rumors circulated about Malfoy. Whispers that predicted him joining the Dark Lord, assessments of dark power, and increased thoughts of what was hidden in Malfoy Manor.  
  
But Hermione wasn't involved in these matters. No she wasn't, she had a job to do.  
  
To interrogate Val Lethon. 


	4. Suspect Interrogated

Faded Eternity  
  
Chapter Four- Suspect Interrogated  
  
Quicksilver Fallen  
  
Author's note: Thank you all so, so, so much for reviewing! I'm so lucky to have reviewers like you guys! Oh, and I think the mystery of which Death- Eater had been killed will be unraveled in either chapters Five or Six. Oh, and an extra "THANK YOU SO MUCH!" to ElvenRanger, she reviewed twice!  
  
Hermione sped down the hall as fast as she could with 20 books over her shoulder. (Which wasn't very fast, mind you.) She scoured the entire hall, searching for a knot of Slytherins. She skidded to a halt when she passed Pansy Parkinson. Pansy had seemed to have inherited Crabbe and Goyle, who were now always at her side, ready to do her bidding instead of Malfoy's. Hermione approached the butt-ugly trio, a grimace creeping out onto her face. Pansy sneered at her.  
  
"Uhh." Hermione was at a loss for words, it was hard asking an enemy for help! She finally managed to find her usual plane of genius, "Tell me, where is Val Lethon?" she asked coolly.  
  
Pansy was fixing to tell Hermione to bugger off, when the name 'Lethon' was heard. She forced a false grin on her face, (and wound up looking more like a demented pug than anything) and pointed a pudgy finger towards the East Hall. She obviously didn't want Granger to tell Val anything bad about her; she was one who liked a good reputation among the Slytherins.  
  
Hermione swiftly nodded and hurried towards the East Hall. As she turned the corner at full speed, she didn't exactly where she was going and ran smack dab into someone. Not just someone, it was Draco Malfoy. He was knocked into the ground by the force of Hermione and her hundred-pound book load. Obviously Malfoy wasn't looking where he was going; he had a glazed look in his silver eyes, his face blank and emotionless, as if his soul had temporarily left his body. But in a five-seconds, he came back to himself and noticed Granger staring at him with a look that said, "uh. go to the hospital wing!"  
  
"What the hell do you want with me Granger?!" he ordered with a malicious tongue.  
  
"Nothing Malfoy, I accidentally ran into you while you were trapped in la- la land." Hermione snapped back.  
  
"Next time don't run into me. Run somewhere else- like out the window!" he sneered.  
  
"I doubt that will happen anytime soon, Malfoy. Anyway, I think I should be off." She was about to take off towards the East Hall again, when she noticed a folded up piece of parchment sitting two feet away from Malfoy. She froze, and pointed her wand at it, "Accio Parchment!" she shouted, and it zoomed into her hand. She noticed Draco's eyes widen when the parchment landed in her hand.  
  
"Give that back Granger!" he yelled angrily, "It's of no importance to you!"  
  
"What's this Malfoy? A Death-Eater meeting invite?" said Hermione with a satisfied smirk as she raised her other hand to unfold the mysterious parchment.  
  
Malfoy lunged at her, almost whisking it out of her hands. Luckily she managed to keep it away from him.  
  
"Copyaris!" she muttered with her wand pointed at the parchment.  
  
That was the Copy Spell. Hermione suddenly received the copy of the parchment she was holding, in her pocket. In his desperation and rage, Malfoy hadn't noticed she copied it, and he finally got the actual one out of her hands. He glared daggers, swords, knives, and arrows at Hermione as she sped off towards the East Hall with a smirk gracing her features.  
  
She finally spotted Val talking with Blaise Zambini and Marcus Flint, who seemed to have FINALLY gotten his teeth fixed. She approached them at a walk, and luckily, Val said something.  
  
"Er. what was it again? Oh yeah, Granger, what do you want?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Well, I just wanted to ask you, since everyone's talking about it- why did you transfer over to Hogwarts? Everyone's guessing your parents are dead... I don't think so." She stated clearly.  
  
'Durmstrang education was going downhill. And no, my parents are not dead, I just don't see them a lot of the time." Val answered shortly.  
  
"Really, well I must be going." Hermione replied turning on her heel to leave, and then speeding off towards Gryffindor Tower.  
  
"I swear, that girl is disturbing!" exclaimed Val back to Zambini and Flint.  
  
"All Gryffindors are!" Answered Flint slyly, and they laughed.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^  
  
Hermione arrived gasping for breath at the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
"Aquarius." She muttered at the painting and it swung forward.  
  
Hermione burst into the common room, rushing over to Harry and Ron.  
  
"It's not Lethon's parents, she said she only transferred out of Durmstrang because it was going downhill in the education department!" Hermione exclaimed at the two boys.  
  
Ron sighed, "Darn, I wanted to pin something bad on her."  
  
"Well that leaves us with Avery and Malfoy." Said Harry.  
  
"DEFINITELY not Malfoy." Interrupted Hermione, "Malfoy Junior is back to his normal self. I swear he took an extra dose of get-pissed-off-at-Granger in the morning!" she said, "But then again, he was fighting me to get a certain parchment back.  
  
"Where's that parchment?!" asked Harry excitedly.  
  
"I want to look at it in my dorm first, in case it's cursed. Then I'll show it to you in the morning." Said Hermione with a glint in her eye.  
  
"BUT-" Ron started, but couldn't battle the McGonagall glare in Hermione's face to finish his sentence.  
  
Hermione marched off to her dormitory, against the many protests of Ron and Harry.  
  
"Mental, that girl is!" Ron yelled in frustration, "We were THIS close to solving the mystery, and then she gets all McGonagall on us! Just like the time she HAD to go get your Firebolt checked out when Sirius sent it to you!"  
  
"I know Ron, but c'mon, and let's have a game of chess. Forget about Malfoy, the twit." Said Harry coolly, gesturing to the chessboard next to him.  
  
"Okay, sure Harry." Answered Ron with a disappointed frown.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
Hermione stretched out upon her four-poster bed, lying in the red and gold sheets. She reached into her pocket for the parchment, and with ease, pulled it out. She unfolded it, turned it over slowly and gasped audibly while scanning the paper.  
  
"Oh my God." 


	5. The Article

Faded Eternity  
  
Chapter 5- The Article  
  
Quicksilver Fallen  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except for Val Lethon. If you happen to want to use Val in any of your stories, e-mail or AIM me and ask, usually I'm okay with people putting my characters in stories.  
  
Author's note- AHA! The mystery grows darker than ever! Later you may find that Val actually has a role in this story besides being just some lame Mary-Sue character. BTW, I love all of you guys! Please keep the reviews coming! Thank you so much!  
  
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Harry and Ron awoke eagerly to see what clue Hermione had in her pocket. They dashed down to the Great Hall, hoping to run into Hermione on their way. They did, literally. Ron crashed headlong into her, and she hit the ground hard - really hard.  
  
"OW!" squealed Hermione, her schoolbooks scattering all across the floor.  
  
"Oops, sorry!" said Ron, eyeing her pocket curiously.  
  
Hermione hoisted herself (and the 20 schoolbooks) off of the ground and made her way into the Great Hall with Harry and Ron at her side. (And carrying 5 of her schoolbooks apiece, which was enough to break someone's back) They sat down at the table, awaiting the daily Owl Post. The familiar swarm of owls flocked into the Great Hall, each of them dropping parcels or letters to the many students.  
  
A screech owl swooped by and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet on Hermione's head.  
  
" bOW!/b" she squealed for the second time in one day. She leaned over and picked the Daily Prophet off of the ground, took one glance at the front page and-  
  
"I knew it!" she yelled, not directly at anyone.  
  
"You knew what?!" shouted Harry, who took a look at the cover of the newspaper, "Oh."  
  
This is what it said:  
  
"b LUCIUS AND NARCISSA MALFOY FOUND DEAD IN MANOR- REVEALED TO BE DEATH- EATERS /b  
  
Around four weeks ago Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were found dead in their own manor. Their child, Draco, was discovered unconscious in the East Tower of the Malfoy Manor. When the Aurors asked him the question of who killed his parents, he told them that it was the Dark Lord. But the Dark Mark etched upon Lucius Malfoy's forearm seems to tell a different story. Albus Dumbledore however, believes Draco Malfoy, saying that the Dark Lord has killed his own followers before.  
  
Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, refuses to believe that You-Know- Who has enough power to kill someone, or is even alive, and believes that Draco Malfoy himself could be a Death-Eater, saying that Draco was trying to cover up for his father by lying to the Aurors. He has taken young Malfoy into questioning several times, yet Draco refuses to tell the truth Fudge wants to hear.  
  
Young Malfoy is continuing to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and will be placed in an orphanage during the summer holidays for there is no real relatives that can take him. But now, for the real question you were reading this paper for- who will inherit the Malfoy fortune? Fudge seems to want to get his pudgy hands on it and throw it into the ministry worker's pocket books. Arthur Weasley seems to be very supportive of this idea."  
  
Ron went beet-red at the mention of his father. They continued reading the paper.  
  
"Lucius Malfoy's will states specifically that his son is to inherit the money and the manor when he comes of age. Fudge refuses to cooperate with 'That death-eater's will'. Albus Dumbledore advises Fudge to give Young Malfoy his inheritance when he graduates, in trust that Draco is not a Death-Eater. However, the destiny of Draco and the Malfoy Millions is unseen.  
  
Rita Skeeter- Special Correspondent  
  
Ron exploded at Hermione.  
  
"WHAT?! I THOUGHT YOU HAD THAT GIT LOCKED UP IN A JAR!" he yelled.  
  
"I did, but Viktor told me to cut it out, he said something like Karkaroff used to do things like that to the students he disliked. It made him uneasy." She replied matter-of-factly.  
  
"SO MORE EMBARRASSMENT TO MY DAD BECAUSE VICKY DIDN'T LIKE IT!" Ron shouted once more.  
  
"No Ron, I didn't mean-"  
  
"SHUT UP HERMIONE!" Ron gave one last glare and ran out of the hall.  
  
Hermione sighed and shook her bushy head. Harry looked even more curious than before.  
  
"So.. What was written on that piece of paper that Malfoy dropped?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"Oh." she said quietly, "here." She handed him the stained sheet of paper.  
  
Harry held it up to the light to gaze upon it.  
  
It was not a sheet of paper, but a picture. A picture of Malfoy and his parents. In the picture Malfoy was smirking at Harry and turning to talk to his father occasionally, who had his hand on Malfoy's shoulder. Narcissa Malfoy would lean over and whisper some words into her husband's ear, words that would make him grin.  
  
'How did you know that his parents were dead by looking at this?" Harry questioned.  
  
"Oh.. Well flip it over." She ordered.  
  
Harry did so, revealing the stained opposite side of the picture.  
  
"All I see here are stains." harry muttered.  
  
"That's the point! Now what do you think those stains are from?"  
  
He examined the sheet more closely. It appeared to be water, but in the wizarding world, things weren't always what they seemed, so Harry turned to Hermione again.  
  
"Is it water?" he asked.  
  
"Yes Harry. Water from where? That's the real question. I know where, you tell me when you know." She said with a superior tone of voice.  
  
"The sink?"  
  
"Yeah right, Malfoy's going to accidentally spill water on the picture of his dead parents."  
  
"Oh, c'mon Hermione, tell me!"  
  
"They're tears Harry, couldn't you tell? Why would he be carrying around a picture of his parents in his pocket if they weren't dead?" Hermione said clearly.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Harry was about to say something about it when he felt a presence somewhere behind him. He whirled around to spot Malfoy glaring at him. He snatched the photo right out of Harry's hands with a malicious sneer before Harry could say anything. Harry whipped around and shouted to Malfoy's retreating back.  
  
"Look who's crying over his parents now Malfoy!" He yelled.  
  
"Oh my gosh Harry! You're being just as mean as Malfoy was!" said Hermione.  
  
"He said things like that to me everyday, making fun of how I didn't have any parents." Harry spat. "And now HIS parents are dead."  
  
"Cut it out Harry." Said Hermione in the McGonagall tone.  
  
Harry let out a sigh. "I know Hermione, I'll stop."  
  
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Potions Class- The same day  
  
In the cold dark dungeon classroom, Professor Snape was splitting all of the students up into partners. His cold black eyes scanned the paper like beetles skittering over sand.  
  
"Granger and Potter. Weasley and Longbottom." He paused.  
  
"I give a note of warning to Weasley, Longbottom doesn't look like he's been practicing over the summer." He stopped again to allow the Slytherin's snickering to fade.  
  
"Finnigan and Patil. Thomas and Brown. Crabbe and Parkinson. Goyle and Zambini. And last, Lethon and Malfoy." Snape leered over the Gryffindors. Neville had been trembling so much he had knocked over his scales with an ear-shattering CLANG! Snape glared at Neville.  
  
"You may have noticed that I divided you all up into a Boy-Girl partnerships, because Longbottom IS a girl!" Snape hissed. Neville ducked under the table. The Slytherins were in hysterics.  
  
Harry leaned over to whisper in Hermione's ear, "Looks like we have a new Snape favorite." He said, nodding in Val's direction.  
  
"Doesn't look like she likes it much, does she?" Hermione whispered back.  
  
Harry didn't have a chance to reply, he began to clutch his scar in agony, a pained scream escaping his lips. He sank to the floor in a haze, Hermione watching in horror.  
  
Across the room, Draco Malfoy collapsed to the floor in the same fashion.  
  
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Author's note: Ooh! Another mystery to be solved! And a cliffhanger as well, keep those reviews coming! I love to hear from you guys!  
  
~Quicksilver Fallen~ 


	6. Another Encounter

Faded Eternity  
  
Chapter 6-  
  
Quicksilver Fallen  
  
Authors Note: I have gotten very excited at all of these wonderful reviews so I will reply to all of the chapter 5 reviews! YAY!  
  
To VioletEyes- Thanks, I do like the mystery! It is beneficial to both the author and the reader! ^_^ It keeps me writing and it keeps you reading! How fun!  
  
To Starry- Malfoy is not the new Harry Potter. *evil smirk* You may find later that his faint had nothing to do with a scar, it had to do with something a bit different... And Yes, THE MCGONAGALL TONE OF DOOM! (Traumatic music plays in the background)  
  
To Elven Ranger- I know you're confused, but please don't stop reviewing. It will become clearer later on in this chapter, so don't worry my friend!  
  
To Darcyisme- I thank you for your interest in my story! It really keeps me going!  
  
To NDC000- Thanks for the review and the promise to send more! I will most definitely post more chapters!  
  
Now, for the story...  
  
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Val looked, startled, down at the unconscious Malfoy lying on the floor. She whipped her short ponytail around, her eyes scanning for Professor Snape.  
  
'Damn!' she remembered! Snape had run out of the room just as Malfoy and Potter fainted. She recalled a pained look etched across his sallow face, twisting the already ugly features out of proportion. She tried to think of what could have been hurting him so badly, when her eyes strayed across Malfoy's unconscious body once more. She spotted something on him that everyone dreaded, but in the back of his or her minds knew was true.  
  
'Oh God...' She thought to herself as she stepped in front of Draco's body to hide what she saw from other student's eyes.  
  
Luckily, she managed to succeed in the fact that no one saw what she saw. This was because all of the other students were too preoccupied with Potter rolling on the floor clutching his scar.  
  
"Pansy! Didn't you notice?" Val started at Pansy, "Your crush has just collapsed, are you gonna help me carry him? If not, I'll choose some BETTER company." Val shouted sarcastically.  
  
Pansy darted around like some fat crocodile, and the four words so well known by these students came out of her mouth, "OH NO! POOR DRAKIE!"  
  
Half of the Gryffindors and Slytherins laughed at Pansy, Val trying hard not to be one of them. It wouldn't do good to have Parkinson try to beat her face in when she had to take someone to the Hospital wing. Val reached over and supported Draco's chest and arms, careful to cover up the secret that had mistakenly been revealed to her, and Pansy took care of his feet.  
  
They finally got to Madam Pomfrey, and she settled Malfoy into a bed. Pansy was freaking out, tears spewing from her dull squinty eyes.  
  
"Parkinson, stop it at once. Malfoy is alright!" Pomfrey screeched like a spooky Chihuahua.  
  
Pansy abruptly stopped sobbing, her breath coming in and out in harsh rasps, like a hippopotamus that had asthma.  
  
"Now get back to class you two. Good day." she said once again in the spooky Chihuahua voice.  
  
Val nodded and Pansy let out another Hippo-ish rasp that sounded like "Yes", but you could never be too sure with Pansy.  
  
Val made her way back to class and passed Hermione on the way there, carrying Harry.  
  
"What the Hell was wrong with Malfoy?" the bushy-haired girl asked, "Did he take one too many doses of Get-mad-at-the-Mudbloods today?"  
  
"C'mon, he fainted in class at the same time as Harry. Gee, I wonder if this is linked to the Dark Lord at all..." Val added with sarcasm, changing the subject so she wouldn't have to lie ten times to keep Granger from knowing why Malfoy fainted.  
  
"You obviously haven't heard of the things he did to me, Ron, and Harry." said Hermione, "and It is obvious that this is somehow linked to You-Know- Who, but why would Malfoy faint? Was Voldemort trying to alert him of his sudden urge to have a butterbeer?"  
  
"You can't confirm that Malfoy's a Death Eater because his father was one." Val said to Hermione.  
  
"I wish I could Lethon, I really wish I could..." Hermione's voice trailed off as she sped off with Harry's body.  
  
"Git." Val muttered as she hurried back to the dungeon classroom.  
  
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The Dungeon Classroom...  
  
Severus Snape was back in charge. He was sitting at the front of the classroom in his superior desk.  
  
"Hurry up." he ordered the class, "I haven't got all day to wait for you to finish your lame potions."  
  
Val walked into the room, rushing over to her unfinished potion and dumping the right ingredients in hurriedly. She had to at least get a C on this potion... Aha! Finished. She stewed the potion with relief that there was only two minutes of class left.  
  
The bell finally rang, and Val strode out with Blaise.  
  
"Why did Draco faint?" Zambini asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Am I supposed to know? He kept on staring at the ground, no attention directed at Snape at all. He put his head in his hand and started to breathe slowly, like, you know, he was putting off some sort of pain." Val tried to explain without giving anything away, "And then he fainted. I really don't know what was happening to him." she lied.  
  
"Oh... I wouldn't know either. I just hope he gets his arse out of bed before the Quidditch match against Gryffindor tomorrow." replied Blaise with a grin.  
  
"Same here. I really hope we win. From what I've heard, since Potter got on the team, Slytherin hasn't won a championship. What's Marcus going to do? It's his last year, I'm sure he really wants to win that cup." Val added.  
  
"Yeah. I kind of feel sorry for him, his last season doesn't look good." Blaise said. Val nodded in response as they walked off to the Slytherin common room.  
  
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Infirmary- with Hermione, Ron, and Harry  
  
Hermione paced up and down the aisle of beds nervously while Ron gnawed on a chocolate frog with worry. Every few minutes they would take a glance at Harry to see if he was awake. No such luck yet. They listened to the silence awaiting a flutter of eyelashes, or a rustle of blankets. No such luck yet, until...  
  
"Hermione! Ron! What- what happened?" said the familiar voice of Harry.  
  
"Oh Harry! You're awake! You fainted during class, clutching your scar!" Hermione exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, what did you see Harry?" asked a curious Ron.  
  
"Voldemort was talking to Wormtail, something about me and the fact that they needed to have another Death Eater meeting. Then he said something about his snake saying that Lucius wasn't a spy for Dumbledore. He got angry at how stupid his error was and grabbed Wormtail's Dark Mark to call the Death Eaters." Harry said finally, breathing the air deeply.  
  
"Oh my gosh, Harry, you okay?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Who's that laying over there?" asked Harry, pointing at the bed all the way across the room.  
  
"Oh, we forgot to tell you, Malfoy fainted too. No one knows why." answered Hermione.  
  
"I think I know," said Ron, "Pansy farted."  
  
Harry and Ron exploded with laughter as Hermione smiled, not wanting to wake anybody else up. She didn't want Malfoy to get up and start another argument. Unfortunately for her, Draco stirred and lifted himself to a sitting position.  
  
"What the hell- why am *I* here and what are YOU doing here?!" he said angrily.  
  
"Oh no, you've awoken Prince Pureblood." sighed Hermione.  
  
"Yeah, that's right Granger, and WHY am I here?!"  
  
"You fainted in Potions class." answered Hermione simply.  
  
"Oh. Well I have to go. Your presence makes me want to throw up. He swung his legs over the bed and got ready to walk out.  
  
"Not so fast, Mister Malfoy. We have to figure out whats wrong with you before you leave. Until then, you stay in that bed." came the spooky Chihuahua's voice.  
  
"Nothings wrong with me-" "Yes there is! If you fainted in Potions class for no reason, then there is something definitely wrong." she screeched.  
  
"No there isn't-"  
  
"Don't you back talk me Mister Malfoy now you stay in that bed!" she yelled.  
  
"I have a Quidditch practice to go to-"  
  
"Fine then! Let me check you for a fever first." she held her hand to his forehead and she sighed, "Nope, no temperature. Go on then!" She walked away muttering something about 'that stupid sport'.  
  
Draco smirked and strutted out of the Hospital wing.  
  
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The Slytherin Common Room- with Val and Blaise  
  
Val sat relaxed in a high-backed green chair across from Blaise. Blaise was busy scribbling down answers to the potions homework. Val was staring into the sparkling emerald fire. She looked up to see Marcus Flint rushing over towards her, a desperate glint in his eye.  
  
"We don't have a Chaser! Come on Lethon, we need you!" He begged.  
  
"Why do you need me specifically? Val asked.  
  
"You went to the same school as Viktor Krum, Val! Come on, we need to win the cup!" The glint in his eye could blind McGonagall.  
  
"I'm not a good player-"  
  
"Val, you're coming." he finalized and he grabbed her wrist, pulled her up, and tugged her away. Val let herself be tugged, she cast a glance at Blaise as she left with Flint.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ A/N - Yay! A chapter that doesn't leave you thinking so hard! Anyways, if you'd like to give me a guess of who will win the Quidditch match or why Draco fainted, do so! I love to see the guesses of my reviewers!  
  
Thanks,  
  
Quicksilver Fallen 


	7. Muted Thoughts

Faded Eternity  
  
Chapter 7- Muted Thoughts  
  
Quicksilver Fallen  
  
Author's notes- Special thanks to MY REVIEWERS! *eyes well up with tears at the pride of having 53 reviews*  
  
TessaGesek - I'm glad you like the humor, I added it in there because I felt that this could use some lightening up, but sadly it probably won't last.  
  
ElvenRanger- Thank you so much for staying with me through all these chapters, you've really kept me going, thank you.  
  
Darcyisme- Thanks! I knew someone'd like them!  
  
PrincezzShortie- I know that, I was in a hurry. But thank you for correcting me! ^_^  
  
VioletEyes- Thank you for constantly reviewing as well! And those are good guesses! Good Luck!  
  
Pik- I don't have anything against slash, just letting people know that this isn't slash so if they'd rather be reading slash that this isn't it. No offense, I really didn't mean anything against anyone by posting that. Anyway, thank you oh so much by reviewing this! It really means a lot to me!  
  
Rei.K- OH MY GOD thank you oh so much! *hugs you* I didn't even have a fic to review for you! Oh gosh, I'm so glad you came by this fic and I hope you have a good time reading this chapter! And BTW, Good plot guesses!  
  
beyond infinity- You're welcome, I certainly enjoyed your fic! Good luck with it! And thank you oh so much for reviewing my fic as well!  
  
IloveRupert13- THANK YOU! I love your fics so much, they are AWESOME! Thank you soo soo much for reviewing all 6 chapters of this fic, I hope you enjoy reading this one!  
  
LauratheCat- I never knew my stories had the power to make someone cry... *sniff sniff* Thank you ever so much for the great review! Andnow for thanks number two, I didn't know people thought my Screenname was cool... ^_^  
  
Me- Thank you so much! I never knew this many people would love this fic!  
  
Hettie Hoffleboffer= First off, thanks for all of the reviews! Second off, I want to tell you that your story is Fantastic! I truly can't wait for more!  
  
Kate Lynn- First I must tell you that your fic is the most interesting and intriguing fic I have ever read in my entire life! It is so amazing! Anyway, thank you so, so much for your review! It cheered me up when I least expected!  
  
Now, for the story! (Readers: FINALLY!)  
  
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Val was tugged by Marcus out to the Quidditch Pitch. He put her through the familiar and boring paces of broom control. She went through them with a little hesitance, but she did okay.  
  
"C'mon Val! You can do better than that! I know it!" He called up to her, as if expecting a Wronski Feint at any moment.  
  
"Flint... Why are you doing this? I'm not Viktor Krum!"  
  
"I know that Val! You are better than Krum! We're gonna win the cup!!!" Flint shouted in ecstasy. Val sighed and decided to let him be happy.  
  
She made a few shots with the Quaffle. She was sure anyone could have done better than her if they tried, but of course, Marcus was too busy zooming around the field shouting about how they were going to win the cup to notice.  
  
After another hour or so, Marcus blew a whistle and the team headed inside to the showers. While they piled into the locker rooms, Flint pulled Draco aside.  
  
"Malfoy. It is time you finally beat Gryffindor and earn respect for our house. Don't give me excuses. Your father sold you to this team, and if you don't get us a victory, his soul can eat a bloody refund!" Flint cursed.  
  
"Yes Sir..." answered Draco in a monotone voice.  
  
"It'd better be 'Yes' you filthy ungrateful brat, now stay out here and keep practicing!" Marcus ordered in a harsh voice.  
  
In Draco's mind, he flinched. It reminded him of what his father used to say to him. Always ungrateful, always spoiled. It was never, "I'm proud of you son." No, no matter how much he yearned for it, he never received it.  
  
Funny thing is, you get everything from racing brooms to superb dress robes, but you never receive the thing your heart desires most.  
  
He was an unloved child, although his father was cruel and uncaring, and his mother detached and vein. This was why he had enemies like Potter, the ones who had love, bravery, and friendship. He sometimes mused upon what would have happened if Potter had taken his hand on the first train ride to Hogwarts. He would have had a real friend, not another thing to yearn for.  
  
But then again, you are given everything but your heart's desire.  
  
His parents weren't really that much of a loss, come to think of it. They didn't care for him at all. Thoughts like s parents... they but they had raised him, hadn't they? These thoughts made Draco feel guilty. He wasn't supposed to feel that way about his parents! These many musings wracked his brain, and then he had to deal with other's pity. He didn't need it. To keep up the cold and sneering façade was now the only thing left to do, so they couldn't see the many painful thoughts racing though his mind.  
  
Draco's thoughts stopped, as Flint uttered another word of anger towards him as he tried to catch up with the rest of the team.  
  
Draco mounted his broom again, obeying Flint's commands of perfection.  
  
It felt good to be flying again.  
  
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Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally persuaded Madam Pomfrey to let Harry out of the Infirmary after another hour, and they walked gratefully down the corridor.  
  
"Harry, this Malfoy situation is getting more and more confusing! We've sunk so low as to investigate papers in his pocket and why he's fainting in class! What's next? Solving the mystery of why he's not wearing the same tie two days in a row?!" exclaimed Ron.  
  
"Ignore him Harry, Malfoy probably fainted becau-" Hermione was interrupted by Ron's exasperated sigh.  
  
"Shut up, Ron!" she tossed out angrily. She resumed her discussion with Harry, "Could it be because of a dark mark?"  
  
"I told you, it was probably the potion that knocked him out, Hermione! He's too young to be a Death-Eater, all of the ones I saw were pushing forty! Would Voldemort put his trust in a child?" Harry explained.  
  
"He might! You never know." said Hermione with a calculating look gracing her face.  
  
"I can't even really say that it's doubtful, we'll never find a word of logic behind all of that evil." Harry stated with venom only thoughts of Voldemort could conjure.  
  
"Very true," agreed Hermione, "I don't suppose he was ever really sane, was he? I mean, he was killing from when he was as old as we were! I don't think I could ever be able to handle the guilt of killing someone...  
  
"Oh who cares! Enough with the mysteries! Let's focus on what we KNOW!" burst Ron, "MALFOY'S A FILTHY LAZY SCUMMY DEATH EATER!"  
  
"SSH! Ron! Let's not be too one-sided here." answered Hermione in her smooth tone of voice.  
  
"Well well well, what do we have here?" a voice rang out amusedly from above them.  
  
They directed their attention upward, to see the face of none other than Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch Team captain. Next to him was Val. She had her eyebrow raised, but whether it was directed at them or Flint, they couldn't tell.  
  
"What do you want, Flint?!" demanded Ron.  
  
"Oh, nothing much really. Just wanted to inform you that YOUR PUNY LITTLE GRYFFINDOR HIDES ARE GOING TO BE BEATEN TO A PULP TOMMORROW'S MATCH!' the ambitious glint was back in his eyes again, so bright that it could have made Voldemort's red glare look dull.  
  
"I doubt that, being you've never beaten our team yet." said Hermione, battling Flint's ambitious glint with her McGonagall glint.  
  
"OH, BUT WE WILL BEAT YOU THIS TIME AROUND, GRANGER. MARK MY WORDS!" this time the glint was paired up with an evil grin, it was pretty scary.  
  
"You won't beat us at anything Flint, you failed three years in a row! You were supposed to have a JOB three years ago! Not be some foul, lazy, cheating, Quidditch captain!" Hermione shouted.  
  
Flint couldn't retaliate to this one, the glint in his eye faded away, the moment of self-confidence gone as fast as it had come. His clenched fist was shaking with rage, slowly pulling back, preparing for a heavy punch. She was going to pay for that one.  
  
"YOU FILTHY MUDBLOOD- eh?" Val was holding on the back of his robes. He spun around angrily.  
  
"She's not worth it, Flint!! Come on, our friends are waiting for us." Val stated blatantly. She was glaring at the trio. And with that, she ran off to the Slytherin Common rooms with Marcus already a mile ahead of her.  
  
  
  
"I thought Lethon was smarter than that." said Hermione, shaking her head, "Hanging out with failures like that Flint..."  
  
"Maybe she's not doing it out of friendship..." answered Harry, "Flint's captain, she might have gotten on the team, and was coming back from a practice. She IS from Durmstrang, I'll bet Flint'd do anything to get her on the team."  
  
"OH NO... WE'RE GOING TO BE FLATTENED!" cried Ron, "I'll bet you a thousand galleons that all Durmstrang students have to be REALLY awesome at Quidditch! We're going to lose...."  
  
"No, Ron. We'll win, I promise you. And there's no chance that Malfoy will ever beat me to the snitch." Harry assured him.  
  
"And Val shouldn't be all that awesome either. Just because Viktor went to her school doesn't mean she can't be bad at Quidditch." Hermione stated, as if she were a talking encyclopedia.  
  
"Yeah..." replied Harry, "Gryffindor should win, our new keeper is really cool."  
  
"Who is it?" Ron begged for knowledge.  
  
"Dean Thomas! No one ever knew he was good at Quidditch until he tried out! He was super! I swear!" Exclaimed Harry.  
  
"Whoa, that's cool. I can't wait for the match! It'll be hilarious to see Malfoy's face when he sees that even getting a player from Durmstrang can't help them!" said Ron happily.  
  
"I must admit, that WILL be funny. I want even more to see the look on Lethon's face when she finds that the Slytherin team are a bunch of crazed cheaters!" announced Hermione with a mischevious grin, "She'll soon regret being sorted into Slytherin!"  
  
"I'll bet, especcially when Fred and George "Accidentally" send a few bludgers her way!" Chimed in Ron, "Flint's got himself a little soft spot, doesn't he? One word about him failing, and he's about ready to attack Hermione!"  
  
"Definitely. If it weren't for Val, Hermione would be in the infirmary with Pomfrey!" agreed Harry.  
  
Hermione nodded at this as they strode over to the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
"Malfoy's a Dolt." she said clearly, the portrait swung open, and they stepped inside.  
  
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Val found Blaise in the Girl's dormatories  
  
"Hey Blaise!" Val called, Blaise was writing in a notebook.  
  
Blaise was obviously annoyed, " 'Hey' to you too, so what happened at practice?"  
  
"Oh nothing, Flint's only expecting me to be exactly like Viktor Krum!" Val half-shouted sarcastically.  
  
"Really? That failure's pushing YOU around?" Blaise snickered.  
  
"My thoughts exactly! I didn't even know that he had failed 3 times in a ROW! Nothing's wrong with it, just he needs to stop bothering me and start understanding his Arithmancy!" Val complained.  
  
"I agree," answered Blaise, "but I doubt he will, the arse."  
  
"Yeah, definitely. But I agree with one thing he said- those Gryffindors will be wishing they were never born after tomorrow's match!" Val said, a grin plastered to her face.  
  
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A/N- Okay! The next chapter will be the Quidditch Match! Feel free to leave me any questions or comments! Tell me if I'm focusing too much on certain characters when I shouldn't be, or if I had an error with some of the materials of the book! It'd help me so much, Thank you all!  
  
~Quicksilver Fallen~ 


	8. Revenge

Faded Eternity  
  
  
  
Chapter 8- Revenge  
  
Author's Notes- Thank you all so, so very much for all of your fantastic reviews! *Hails all of the Reviewers MANY, MANY TIMES* you all are GRAND! You people deserve much more than me saying thank you... but sadly, that is all I can give... ;_;  
  
I'm very very sorry, but I have a special task for all of you! I am considering having a Dance (or Ball, if you'd like) in the story, but I am not sure of who will go with whom. I do NOT want to do common Dance Partners that are usually HP Shipper pairings, Like Harry and Hermione, or Ron and Hermione, or Draco and Hermione. Nor do I want to do things that have been done before, like Harry and Parvati. If you think you've spotted an awesome pair, and you think that it is good for this fic, put it in your review! It'd make me feel so happy! On top of that, I have been having an even HARDER time finding someone for Val. I'm not going for an Inter-House date, nor am I going to have her go with Malfoy, that's just way too Mary- Sue. I know that this is SO unbearably annoying, but if you think you've found someone who has some sort of a connection with Val, tell me!  
  
You don't have to give me recommendations, just if you happen to find something, tell me.  
  
Now, for the story... I've been coming up with some really long Author's Notes lately, haven't I?  
  
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Val pulled herself out of bed that morning; there would be no sleeping in today. Because today was the day. The day of Slytherin's revenge on Gryffindor. It was around 7:00 and she already was in her Quidditch robes and ready to head out to the pitch. She walked over to Blaise's bed and leaned over it.  
  
"Hey, Blaise! Its time to Wake UP!" she shouted at the sleeping girl, "You DO want to get good seats for the match, don't you?"  
  
"Ngh... What time is it...?" Zabini mumbled. Val took a peek at the watch on her left wrist.  
  
"7:17." Val announced.  
  
"I still have an hour to sleep... You go ahead..." Blaise answered, annoyed.  
  
"Whatever. It will be more peaceful without you, anyway." Val shot back.  
  
"It will never be peaceful with Flint around, and today he's probably going to give you a pep talk! Haha!" she laughed into her pillow.  
  
Val scowled at the words "Pep Talk" and trudged out the Dormitory.  
  
She trudged up through the empty corridors and into the great hall, snatching a piece of toast from the old table and grabbing her broom from the broom closet. Toting the sleek Nimbus Two Thousand and One, she jogged out to the Slytherin Locker Rooms. Arriving at the silver door with the Slytherin Crest Embedded on it, she muttered the password:  
  
"Ambition and Greed gives you Happiness Indeed." and with that, the door swung open.  
  
There her eyes greeted the sight of Flint leaned over a large model of the Quidditch Field, complete with miniscule players. He would prod one of the Slytherins across the field sometimes, all the while lighting a few of the Gryffindor models on fire with a sick grin lingering on his face.  
  
"So..." Val broke into the silence, like a brick breaking glass, "Do you have any game plans?"  
  
Flint looked up from his intense concentration on the burning of a Gryffindor keeper who vaguely resembled the infamous Oliver Wood, "Err..."  
  
Val looked as if she could fall over with exasperation, "So what are we supposed to do? YOU'RE the captain!"  
  
"There is no real PLAN, Lethon! We're going to do ANYTHING to score, and Malfoy had BETTER do whatever he can to catch the snitch! I don't care if you have to kill a Gryffindor to get your hands on that quaffle, just get your hands on it!" he retorted, his teeth bared angrily.  
  
After a few unbearably silent minutes Val let out a deep sigh, "When is everyone else going to get here?"  
  
"I don't know." He muttered darkly, "Most of them get here late."  
  
Val munched on her toast, thinking of she could have been lying in bed right now, "Damn..."  
  
And with that, Flint started burning the Gryffindor Seeker.  
  
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"WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO THE FIRST QUIDDITCH MATCH OF THE SEASON: GRYFFINDOR VERSUS SLYTHERIN!" Lee's voice boomed over the stadium. "AND HERE COMES THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM!!!!!!! THOMAS! WEASLEY! WEASLEY! SPINNET! BELLE! JOHNSON! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND POTTER!!!!!" he shouted enthusiastically, "AND HERE'S THE SLYTHERIN TEAM. FLINT, BOLE, DERRICK, LETHON, WARRINGTON, MONTAGUE AND MALFOY." He didn't sound so happy about announcing those names.  
  
The players soared out onto the field, the Slytherin team hovering opposite the Gryffindor.  
  
"NOW! IF I EVER SEE AS HORRIBLE TACTICS AS THERE WERE AT THE LAST QUIDDITCH CUP IN THIS GAME, PLAYERS SHALL BE TAKEN OFF OF THE FIELD!" Madam Hooch shrieked as she released the bludgers, quaffle, and snitch. She stepped back, and blew harshly into her whistle. The game had begun.  
  
Val zoomed up, knocked Alicia's hand out of the way, and seized the quaffle. She tore down the field, followed very closely by Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson. She flung the quaffle over at Warrington, who was seemingly wide open. But Alicia Spinnet roared up and snatched it, heading over to the Slytherin goalposts.  
  
"Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet speeding toward the goalposts- NO NO NO! -Hit with a bludger, drops the Quaffle. Flint of Slytherin snatches it, dodges Weasley's bludger- COME ON DEAN! BLOCK HIM!!!!!! YES! Gryffindor back in possession, Katie Bell streaking over towards the Slytherin end- Duck Katie!!!!- Bell dodges Montague, and YESS! SHE SCORES! GRYFFINDOR LEADS TEN TO ZERO!!!!"  
  
Harry was spying EVERYWHERE for the Snitch- but couldn't seem to find it. He put on another spurt of speed, heading over to the Slytherin Goal Posts. Malfoy seemed to be chasing something... THE SNITCH! Harry sped over there as fast as he could, slamming into Malfoy.  
  
"God damn it Potter!" Malfoy yelled in pain.  
  
Harry swerved around to find the snitch, but it had disappeared once again.  
  
"Slytherin in Possession, Val Lethon tearing down the field, hope she runs into that pole, the stuck up Durmstr-"  
  
"JORDAN!" McGonagall roared.  
  
"Very sorry professor. Anyways, Lethon dodges another streaking bludger, nearly taking off Weasley's head with that swerve- ARGH! She almost has beaten Dean- NO!!! Slytherin and Gryffindor tied, Ten to Ten!"  
  
The sea of Green and Silver was cheering loudly and Flint was beaming as he flew to block the Quaffle from Angelina Johnson's clutches, but too late- she had the ball.  
  
Over on the other side of the field, Harry had at last spotted the glimmer of gold circling the left stands. He put on another burst of speed, the wind howling in his ears, and Malfoy on his tail.  
  
His hand was only a few feet away from the snitch, when Malfoy's broom handle smashed into him, bruising his side.  
  
"Agh!" Harry wheezed in pain.  
  
Malfoy almost had the snitch in his pale hand, it was his to win, pride, victory-  
  
NO! A bludger swooped by, shot by one of those FILTHY Weasleys- causing him to lose the snitch. Damn it all.  
  
"Gryffindor in Possession, Angelina Johnson just about at the Goalposts- CURSES!- Bole rams into her!!!! Madam Hooch ought to do something- and yes, it's a penalty to Gryffindor. Angelina beats the keeper no problem and the game continues, Gryffindor in the lead, Twenty to Ten."  
  
Flint was looking murderous. He stole the Quaffle from Alicia Spinnet and threw himself toward the Gryffindor goalposts, nearly colliding with about half of the Gryffindor team.  
  
"Slytherin in possession, that failure Marcus Flint pushing his way towards the goalposts. I mean come on, how in the world could someone fail three times in a row-"  
  
"JORDAN STOP IT THIS INSTANT!!!!!" McGonagall screeched.  
  
The Gryffindors were in hysterics, crying with laugher at Flint. Flint looked extremely furious, yet he pushed on towards the goalposts in his rage.  
  
"Yes, sorry Professor. Flint still heading toward the Goalposts- Block him Dean! BLOCK HIM! We can't have a FAILURE score against us!!!!- NOOO! Gryffindor and Slytherin tied once again, Twenty to Twenty."  
  
The Slytherins were cheering wildly as Jordan announced the score. They hadn't been this close in a game against Gryffindor in YEARS!  
  
Draco squinted out into the distance, hoping to spot the trademark gold glimmer... He was quite pleased they were tied, and he didn't want to ruin it and have Flint kick him off the team. He ducked as a bludger swerved his way, and there it was- The Snitch, hovering beside Derrick, a Slytherin Beater. He sped over, and was meters away, when he saw Potter. Potter had seen it too! He put on a whole new boost of speed, and YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He HAD the Snitch!  
  
He held it up, for all of them to see. And for once, he was the better seeker!  
  
"OH NO!!!! Malfoy's caught the snitch! One Hundred Fifty points to Slytherin, and Slytherin wins the match..." Lee's voice trailed off.  
  
The Slytherin end exploded with cheers, and shouts of joy. Flint was zooming around the field, taking the victory lap he felt he rightly deserved. Draco punched the fist with the snitch in it up into the air. His trademark smirk was plastered onto his face, and he knew that even his father might have been proud.  
  
But suddenly- a bludger, shot by that Weasley careened into Malfoy's arm. There was a sickening crunch, and Malfoy sunk off of his broom. One of the teachers, Professor Snape, had used a hovering charm to keep him from hitting the ground hard. Madam Pomfrey rushed over to him, bending down to check the injured arm. She was pulling up his sleeve when-  
  
"No, It's okay... I'm fine!" Draco half-shouted.  
  
"No, Mr. Malfoy! Let me check on this, people aren't okay once they've been hit by those nasty bludgers." The Spooky Chihuahua voice was back again.  
  
"No!!! I'm serious! I'm perfectly fine!" he hissed back, but he was too late. She had pulled up his sleeve, to reveal- a Dark Mark, glinting sinisterly in the sun.  
  
"Oh... my... God..." Pomfrey clasped her hands over her mouth in terror, and Dumbledore stepped beside her, steel in his eyes.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, come with me." Dumbledore's voice wasn't kind.  
  
"But- you don't understand-" Malfoy stuttered.  
  
"Yes, I do Malfoy. Please come with me." Dumbledore commanded.  
  
Malfoy lugged himself up off of the ground, cradling the pained arm. He followed Dumbledore back into Hogwarts.  
  
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"Blood Pop" Dumbledore muttered at the Gargoyle. It stepped aside, it's stony gaze penetrating nothing. They walked into Dumbledore's warm office, Draco shivering. Not with cold, but with fear.  
  
"Please sit down." Dumbledore motioned to a chair. Draco sat down, shaking.  
  
"I swear I'm not-" Draco started.  
  
"I know you're not a Death-Eater. You were, but you have seen your error. I understand. But for now, we will have to prove that to the Minister." Dumbledore cut in.  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"The path you have chosen is hard, but I am sure you will be able to make it." Dumbledore continued, eyes twinkling.  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"You may go now if you wish, Draco." Dumbledore glanced at the door.  
  
"Thank you sir." Answered Draco in monotone.  
  
"Oh, and by the way, good job at the Quidditch Match. I'm sure your friends will have some sort of party waiting for you, go on."  
  
Draco nodded and headed out the door.  
  
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"I can't believe it." Harry muttered as he trudged down the hall with Ron and Hermione.  
  
"It's okay Harry! It's not your fault!" Hermione said for the fifth time.  
  
"Oh yes it is... Malfoy beat me to the snitch!"  
  
"So? It doesn't mean we won't win the Quidditch cup!" Ron assured.  
  
"I doubt it. Flint is freaking out because he's not going to be here next year, and he's going to do absolutely anything to win that cup." Harry answered sadly.  
  
"We'll still be here to win the cup next year, Harry! It's no big loss." Hermione grinned.  
  
"I suppose so..." replied Harry with a sigh.  
  
"I know so Harry." Hermione smiled.  
  
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Val dragged herself to the Slytherin Common Room, sleeping sounded like a good thing to do right now. She stood in front of the stone wall, and mumbled the familiar password:  
  
"Gryffindork." And with that, the Stone wall slid out of sight to reveal the common room packed with cheering Slytherins of every age. They roared with glee when Val stepped in, throwing confetti everywhere. Blaise shoved a butterbeer into her hand with a shout of "Good job!" Flint was surrounded by nearly one hundred people, telling him how good of a job he did. He looked happy, but a little put out. Val couldn't put a finger on why the hell he was put out, but he was.  
  
There was a nice loud night of partying, music, random shoutings of "Gryffindor Sucks" and yes, a special announcement from Dumbledore.  
  
It was around 8:00 at night, when they were asked to come up to dinner despite the fact they were full of butterbeer and sweets. Dumbledore stood up, and began to speak:  
  
"I have some good news for all of you. Last year, we had the luck of holding the Triwizard Championship at our school. As we all can remember, the Cup also included a formal ball. Because of the fantastic and festive turnout at that ball, we have decided to hold one on December the Fifteenth. Students from Third year and up are allowed only. Do not despair First and Second years, each house will have an organized party in the common rooms, and I'm sure you will have a spectacular time. For this ball partners are not required, but there will be a number of chances to dance with a partner, so you may want one. Good Luck to all of you!" and with that, he sat down.  
  
The whole hall burst with whispers of "Will you go with me?" the second Dumbledore stopped talking. Val looked around the table for availiable guys. She sighed and layed back in her chair. Blaise, however, immediately winked at Warrington.  
  
"Will you go with me again?" Blaise asked, supposedly she had gone with Warrington at the Yule Ball last year. Warrington grinned and nodded.  
  
"Of course."  
  
Flint, however, groaned inwardly. Looked like another night in the empty common room again this year. Last year the comments he got behind his back from girls was, "Eeew, Im not going with him, look at his teeth!" now that he got his teeth fixed, it was, "I'm not going with THAT idiot, He failed three times in a row!" Oh well. Their loss...right? Right?  
  
And after all of the hubbub subsided, ten o'clock came fast, and the lights went out at Hogwarts.  
  
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A/N- Whoa, this is a really long chapter! I'm so excited! Well, anyway, remember to give me suggestions on who should go with who, and good luck!  
  
~Quicksilver Fallen~ 


	9. Arguments and Proposals

Faded Eternity  
  
Chapter 9- Arguments and Proposals  
  
Author's Notes- Okay, I now have enough inspiration to continue this story. I know I never had up an author's note saying I was going in search of inspiration, but I did anyway. Nothing really seemed to happen- until I was intrigued, by something you least expected... My history textbook! I have completely changed what I thought the ending was to be like in my mind, so be aware that there may be some back-ups in my writing. AND, even though the fifth book came out today, I'd like you all who have already read part of it or who have read it entirely to temporarily forget everything it contains. Mwahaha. Thank you all so much for reviewing, I still can't believe I've made it this far.  
  
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After a restless night of dreams filled with images of the upcoming ball, the students piled out into the Great Hall like zombies to eat their breakfast. There was still the occasional whisper of "Will you go with me" within every Three-Foot radius.  
  
"Okay." Started in Ron, "Hermione, can you tell me who's hot and who's not this year?"  
  
"Lethon's looking pretty sexy over there all alone, ask her." Hermione snapped back sarcastically.  
  
"Seriously, 'Mione! I'll bet anything you already have a date... again." Ron muttered exasperated.  
  
"Well... yes..." Hermione blushed bright red, "Harry, what about you?"  
  
"I'm not going." Harry yawned.  
  
"What??? Why not?" Hermione asked, with an arched eyebrow.  
  
"I didn't want to go last dance, but I had to because I was a bloody TRIWIZARD champion." Harry mumbled.  
  
"Oh... what are you going to do instead?" Hermione asked.  
  
"I don't know... Catch up on some much needed sleeping. I KNOW it's not like me, but I'm bloody tired." Harry retorted.  
  
"SOO..." Ron attacked Hermione, "Who's your date this time?"  
  
"Oh you'll find out." Hermione flashed a mischievous smile.  
  
Both Harry and Ron let out sighs that shook the earth.  
  
"Oh shut up!" Hermione exclaimed, annoyed.  
  
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"Soo... who's your date for the dance Val? Huh? Huh?" Blaise asked for the umpteenth time that same day.  
  
"I told you! I DON'T HAVE ONE...yet." Val spat, nearly banging her head on the table in anger.  
  
"Well, how about, err... Bole? He's pretty good-looking." Blaise commented.  
  
"Not when he "accidentally" slams you in the nose with a beaters club, he's not good-looking!" Val retorted angrily.  
  
"Darn... How about Derrick? He's okay." Recommended Blaise.  
  
"He laughed at me when I was slammed in the nose with a beater's club." she insisted.  
  
"Dang, you're a harsh one Val! Lay off of the grudges. You're not going to get a date with a bleedin' grudge!" Blaise complained.  
  
"..So? Then I won't have a date then." Val shrugged.  
  
"And what will you do? Sit in the common room with Flint the Loner?" Zabini chuckled at the thought.  
  
"NO WAY, I'll find a date..." Lethon trailed off.  
  
"How about Montague... He's pretty nice-looking, and he's on the Quidditch team with you." She suggested.  
  
"That's a possibility, are there any other options?" Val asked.  
  
"Um... there's Flint..." Blaise cast a dubious look down the table in Flint's direction.  
  
"No. I will never go with a bloody idiot like Flint! He's such a jerk!" she exclaimed in anger.  
  
"You know... those are the exact words I used to say about Warrington..." Blaise gave Val a knowing wink.  
  
"Damn you Zabini, I hate Flint's guts. Only a person as diluted as you are can go from hate to love in 6.5 seconds flat." Val scoffed.  
  
"Hmm, people actually CAN go from hate to love in 6.5 seconds, but with Flint I doubt anyone could LIKE him. Let alone ask him to the ball. First he has these DISGUSTING teeth that could make Crabbe look like a super model, and then he fails the grade three times in a row! How stupid can you get?" Zabini snickered.  
  
"True, so true. So we've decided on Montague then, eh?" Val sighed deeply.  
  
"I suppose so..." Blaise didn't have time to finish, that very second, Pansy appeared behind them, having listened to their conversation.  
  
"Montague?" Pansy played mock-innocence, "I'm so sorry Lethon, but my friend Millicent already has him taken..." Parkinson wiped an imaginary tear from her eye.  
  
The worst scowl imaginable formed on Val's face as Parkinson mocked her.  
  
"You bloody git-..." Val also wasn't able to continue, due to the fact Pansy had retreated into a large crowd.  
  
Blaise was laughing her head off, "So... do Bole and Derrick look sexy enough yet? Are the Grudges passed?"  
  
Val gave her a desperate look, "YES."  
  
"Ha ha, I knew that would happen, how am I so psychic?" Blaise mused.  
  
"You mean PSYCHO." Val added.  
  
Blaise shook her head wryly, "Okay then, now here's the challenge: You have to ASK him."  
  
"Okay." Val said simply and strode over to Derrick.  
  
"Err... Derrick?" she started, her calm and aloof composure slipping away faster into the abyss, "Would you- would you go- would you go to" she stuttered.  
  
"To the ball with you?" Derrick asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Err... Ye-" Val's tongue froze, not allowing her to speak.  
  
"I'm sorry, I would go with you Lethon, I really would, but I'm already going with Luna Devon." He answered. He did sound a LITTLE apologetic. Thank god he was sincere.  
  
"Luna De- Who's she?" Val's tongue unstuck itself.  
  
"She's Ravenclaw. You wouldn't know her." He cut off.  
  
"Oh... I'll see you later then Derrick." Val murmured as she spun off towards Blaise.  
  
"SOOO!!!" Blaise jumped up and down excitedly, "Do you have a date????"  
  
"No, he's going with a mangy Ravenclaw." Val muttered darkly.  
  
"Aww... that sucks. SO, ask Bole." Blaise commanded.  
  
"I'll ask him later, we have our Transfiguration class next." Val answered.  
  
"Don't tell me- we're with the Gryffindors." Blaise stated.  
  
"Yes. Trying to tell us to get over House rivalries by making us take a thousand bloody classes with them." Val spat.  
  
"I hate that! You want to pass notes during McGonagall's speech?" Blaise proposed.  
  
"Sure. Maybe we can come up with a good idea on how to kill Granger. I think that fried and battered is best, personally." She laughed.  
  
"I think I like Flame Broiled better." Zabini thought aloud.  
  
"True, True."  
  
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-Transfiguration with the Gryffindor and Slytherin Fifth Years-  
  
The Slytherin girls occupied the back seats in McGonagall's boring class. Here the note passing began. Even a few Gryffindor girls like Parvati Patil came and passed notes occasionally. McGonagall's class was THAT boring. Today, there was a large amount of girls in the back, due to the fact that this was the perfect time to gossip about the ball and ball partners. Oh yes, and make fun of boys.  
  
Parvati started the sheet. It read:  
  
=So who's going with whom here?=  
  
Blaise took the sheet and replied:  
  
::Warrington. ;)::  
  
Hermione took the sheet; it was VERY unusual to see her passing notes here. Just goes to show that the ball is a very fun thing to talk about. Hermione scribbled on the paper:  
  
#I'm not telling. :D#  
  
Hermione passed it to Val. Val snatched it and jotted down an answer:  
  
+I don't have a date yet.+  
  
It was then handed to Pansy. Pansy scribbled happily:  
  
I  
  
Millicent grabbed it and wrote:  
  
~I'm going with Montague. Lethon could go with Goyle! HAHA.~  
  
Parvati pulled the small paper out of Millicent's huge hand, and wrote some more:  
  
=Nah, Lethon wouldn't be good with Goyle. You could go with him though, Bulstrode.=  
  
Blaise then received the parchment, and began to write:  
  
::HAHA, Millicent could DEFINITELY go with Goyle!::  
  
Hermione was passed the paper and she began to scribble:  
  
#How about Malfoy? Does he have a date? He could go with Val...#  
  
Val picked up the paper and wrote:  
  
+Malfoy doesn't want a date, he's going to try and get as many dances as he can without having a date. I doubt I'll get a date either.+  
  
Pansy got the paper:  
  
Millicent was then passed the paper and started writing with her pudgy hand:  
  
~HAHAHA! Flint the Failure!~  
  
Parvati had the sheet again now, she wrote:  
  
=That Flint is CREEPY! I don't know if ANYONE could withstand a dance with him!=  
  
Blaise seized the paper:  
  
::Flint? Oh my god, at least he doesn't have those horrid teeth anymore!::  
  
It was then handed over to Val:  
  
+We're discussing Flint now? So he's the only option left? OH MY GOD... HE IS SUCH A JERK! I HATE HIM!!!! HE CAN GO FU  
  
Before Val could insult Flint anymore, Pansy stole the paper and wrote:  
  
Millicent had it now:  
  
~What a Stupid arse.~  
  
Parvati grabbed it:  
  
=So, Val won't get a date?=  
  
Blaise wrote:  
  
::I guess...::  
  
Val got it again. She wrote:  
  
+Maybe...+  
  
The class ended right after she wrote the note, and Val was left to stuff the note in her robe pocket and head out the door.  
  
Everyone met in the hall, and Lavender Brown walked up to Harry Potter, rather blatantly.  
  
"Will you go to the ball with me?" she asked.  
  
"Umm, sure..." Harry muttered.  
  
"I thought you weren't going to the ball." Hermione burst in. Lavender shot a horrid glare at the bushy haired wonder.  
  
"Well I didn't say I would turn someone down!" Harry grinned. Lavender beamed.  
  
"Have it your way..." Hermione stuck her nose in the air and marched off to Arithmancy.  
  
The rest of them strode off to Divination.  
  
One by one they climbed up into the musty classroom, the incense smothering their senses the second they arrived.  
  
"Welcome, children..." began Trelawney, "Today, we shall make predictions about the ball tomorrow night."  
  
The class broke into a ton of excited whisperings. Val and Harry broke out into a groan. Harry because he didn't want his death predicted, and Val because she didn't want to hear more about the stupid ball.  
  
"Because you two both seem so upset about it, lets resolve and make predictions together in front of the class."  
  
More groans again.  
  
"Now now, no need to whine, come up here and we can see what will happen."  
  
Val and Harry wrenched themselves up off of the poufs and walked towards the front of the class.  
  
"In this lesson we will use the pendulum to predict." She announced as she pulled out a board with characters inscribed upon it, and laid it flat on the table. She then pulled out a chain, unclasped, with a crystal dangling on the last link. She passed the chain to Val, and told her to dangle the chain over the board.  
  
"Now, if the crystal moves side to side it means that the emotion the character describes will not occur. If the crystal moves up and down then that means the emotion will occur."  
  
Val held the pendulum over the first character, It was a bright green. The crystal began to swing up and down vigorously.  
  
"Ah, envy you will experience." Trelawney buzzed.  
  
During the next few minutes, Trelawney predicted that Val would go to the ball and experience anger, envy, depression, apologize, and then would experience happiness. With a raised eyebrow, Val sat down.  
  
Harry was given the pendulum, and he groaned as he held it over a character.  
  
"Ah, I see some happiness will be in store for you." Trelawney said.  
  
Nearly all of the class fell out of their seats the second she said happiness. Trelawney NEVER predicted happiness for Potter! Harry was completely dumbfounded.  
  
"What- What did you just say?" Harry asked, his jaw agape.  
  
"I said you would experience happiness at the ball." Repeated Trelawney.  
  
"Oh..." Harry was bewildered.  
  
Then everyone else was given a turn with the pendulum, and at the end of class they all found that everyone would have an okay time at the ball. Except maybe Val... But it HAD said there would be happiness at the end... she doubted it.  
  
Draco had gotten a good prediction as well. Happiness sounded like a good thing to have right now. He wondered if he should just get a date for the ball... no, Pansy already had a date, and she was the only one that truly wanted to be his partner anyway. But he'd find someone to dance with. He was a Malfoy, and even if his parents WERE dead, he was still worth his own weight in gold-  
  
"Hey, it's that lousy Death-Eater!" Weasley's voice shattered his thoughts.  
  
Immediately the Gryffindor's giggles and snickers came. The Slytherins remained silent... like they were too embarrassed to stand up for him...what was going on??? Pansy looked ready to open her mouth, but suddenly looked as if she remembered something, and shut it fast. Maybe it was because he didn't go to the dance with her... Go figure.  
  
"Keep that self-absorbed mouth shut Weasley, or you might choke on your ego! Wait... It's not you who has an ego... you couldn't manage to have one if you TRIED, your family is so poor!" Malfoy hissed through gritted teeth.  
  
A few of the Slytherins giggled. Draco's mouth dropped open with disbelief. LAST year, they would be on the ground with laughter! Did his wit run dry? What was wrong with him? Was he dreaming? Or was it something else...  
  
The Gryffindors eyebrows rose simultaneously.  
  
"Err... not even the SLYTHERINS thought that was funny, Malfoy." Hermione giggled. Parvati snorted into her handkerchief.  
  
"Well, I'm very sure Mrs. Bush-for-a-damn-head is of course the authority on humor." Draco retorted with a smirk. Zabini burst into giggles.  
  
"Hey!" Ron shouted, "You leave Hermione out of this!"  
  
"She had better keep her enlarged mouth out of it then!" Malfoy yelled.  
  
Ron was about getting ready to pounce on Malfoy, when Harry broke into the argument.  
  
"Well, I suggest YOU keep YOUR mouth shut. I know I would if I was a DEATH EATER." He spat.  
  
"What the heck are you-" Draco started, but was immediately cut off by a passing figure.  
  
"Go fuck yourself, Potter." It was Flint. At that precise second all the Slytherin girls took one look at Flint and then at Val and burst into hysterics. Val, she was about ready to hide in the nearest broom closet.  
  
"Why don't you, Flint?! I don't remember inviting you into this conversation!" Harry laughed. Flint stopped sending death glares to the Slytherin girls and whipped his head towards Potter.  
  
"I don't need an invite, specifically from a bastard like YOU." Flint roared.  
  
"Shut up and go find a date, Flint." Harry retorted.  
  
Flint's Face went blood red with embarrassment and rage, the Slytherin Girls were pounding the floor with their fists and staring at Val nonstop.  
  
"Don't have anything to say to that, do you, Flint?!" Ron chuckled.  
  
"Shut up Weasley, as if YOU have a date!" Draco smirked.  
  
That was it for Ron. He threw an infamous Weasley tantrum and tackled Malfoy, thoroughly beating his face into a pulp. Crimson Blood was pouring out from Draco's pale lips when-  
  
"OH MY GOD, RON!" came a small voice, "His parents are Dead! What more could you possibly want from him!!!!" It was Ginny Weasley, and Draco looked up at her as if she was a white angel from heaven.  
  
"Where the hell did YOU come from?" asked Ron.  
  
"I was just walking.... just leave him alone, Ron. He's no good, but he never beat YOUR face in, did he?" Ginny answered. Ron remained silent, and the rest of the Gryffindors and Slytherins soon dissipated to go to other classes. 


	10. Enter the Rich Snob and Someone Else?

Faded Eternity  
  
Chapter 10- Enter the Rich Snob... and Someone Else?  
  
Author's Notes- Thank you all again for the reviews! That's pretty much it....  
  
Now for the story- WOW it's the shortest Author's Note EVER! Yay!  
  
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"What the hell were you thinking?! Defending MALFOY like that! MALFOY FOR CHRIST SAKE!!!!" Yelled Ron at Ginny.  
  
"I just think he should be left alone! Harry didn't like it when people made fun of HIS dead parents, did he!?"  
  
"ALL THOSE TIMES HE MADE FUN OF OUR FAMILY AND YOU DON'T CARE?!" Ron exploded.  
  
"Forgive and forget, Ron." Ginny replied, "And who said you were in charge of MY actions?!"  
  
"Little GIT." Ron finished bluntly, charging off.  
  
Draco, on the other hand, was still lying on the ground completely blown away. A WEASLEY?! Standing up for HIM?! And thank god she did, even if he didn't want to admit it he owed her big time. If she hadn't done what she did, he probably wouldn't have a face anymore. Blood ran from his nose and mouth, but he didn't want to go back to the hospital wing. Why did Ginny defend him? He had even cheered on her death three years ago at the Chamber of Secrets! She must have pitied him. That's it. That was the only explanation. He did not need HER pity though. He was sick of everyone pitying him, and laughing, and...well, it WAS everything Potter had experienced, especially from him. But he didn't care. He didn't deserve this! He was a Malfoy!  
  
A little thought asked him in the back of his mind, 'But your family name doesn't count now anymore, does it? Your family is dead now. Gone. Bye- Bye.'  
  
Draco tried to ignore this thought, even though it was the truth. There would be no more pulling strings with the ministry, no more connections, and no more excuses to really call the Weasleys poor. Because now, in truth, he was poorer than they were. He had to wait for Dumbledore to decide whether or not he deserved it. As if he were a dog waiting for a treat, a damned dog. Potter got HIS inheritance, didn't he? He couldn't even stay in his own home, he was stuck in an orphanage.  
  
He stopped thinking about his predicament, it didn't make any sense to dwell on what he couldn't change. He pushed himself up off of the ground, and walked to charms.  
  
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Five Minutes Later- Professor Flitwick's charm class...  
  
They had this class with the Hufflepuffs, which wasn't too bad, despite the fact the Hufflepuffs were very prejudiced with the Slytherins. But it didn't matter, Slytherins hated Hufflepuffs just as much. Professor Flitwick was standing on his desk to make a sort of announcement, and a tall thin boy with light brown hair and green stood behind him. He was dressed in Hufflepuff Robes.  
  
"I'd like you all to welcome a second transfer in one hundred years, Will Townsend! He's from Beauxbatons." Squeaked the professor as he began to start the lesson about exploding Porcupines. The hufflepuffs burst like a pack of confetti. People suddenly thought they were in a party, and not a classroom.  
  
"WE GOT A TRANSFER! WE GOT A TRANSFER! WE GOT A TRANSFER! WE GOT A TRANS-"  
  
"SHUT UP!!!" the Slytherins yelled.  
  
"Now, now, no need to fight over me." Said Will In a slightly condescending voice. The Slytherins set their glare beams to level ten. Will was holding a gold tipped cane with a jewel set in it, which he twirled idly as he walked down the aisle and sat next to Draco.  
  
"Who does this bastard think he is?! I didn't do this when I came in!" Val hissed in Blaise's ear.  
  
"I know! What is with this guy! He's worse than Harry Potter!" Blaise whispered back.  
  
Draco watched as Will smirked at the Slytherins... It reminded him very much... of himself. He wasn't that bigheaded, was he? He sighed, and wondered if he still would have been like that if he still had it all.  
  
"Why Hello there. A Malfoy I presume?" Will directed at Draco.  
  
"Yes." He answered coldly.  
  
"Pity about your parents." Will remarked.  
  
"Don't talk about my parents. What happened to them was none of your bloody business." Draco snapped. He had enough of these pity-mongers.  
  
"What's on your face?" Will prodded deeper, "Blood? Get into a fight with the "Dark Lord" or something?"  
  
"It is also none of your business. Keep your big head out of my matters." Draco replied.  
  
"It's just sad to see another rich pure family go down like that, that's all." Said Will, with a downcast look at Draco.  
  
"As if you're rich. You probably live in like a-" Draco shut up as Will twirled his gold tipped cane.  
  
"Yeah right Malfoy. I'm so poor I live in a mansion. You USED to."  
  
"I said shut up." Draco cut him off.  
  
"Fine then." Will shot back nonchalantly.  
  
Let's just say Draco was not enjoying the company of this stuck up transfer.  
  
Will turned around and began a conversation with Val and Blaise.  
  
"Oh, Have you two met Fleur Delacour?" He said.  
  
"Yea." answered Blaise and Val bluntly, trying to make their porcupine explode.  
  
"I'm her ex." He replied with a smirk.  
  
"That's nice." Answered Val, "She was a lot like you, big headed and rich. But sadly, you aren't like her in the looks department."  
  
"Definitely." Said Blaise, "Good luck finding a girl for the ball, big head."  
  
"There's a ball?" Will exclaimed, excited, "I must find a date! When is it?"  
  
"Tonight." Said Val.  
  
"I must hurry! Do you happen to be going with anyone?" he asked Blaise.  
  
"Yes." She answered with a yawn.  
  
"How about you, Blondie?" he turned to Val.  
  
"Don't have one, yet. But I wouldn't go with you dead." Val spat, her dirty blonde pony tail flipping to the side.  
  
"Fine, fine. Your loss." Will said, smiling.  
  
"Yes, your loss when you wind up going with Crabbe and Goyle." Blaise giggled.  
  
Will's smile turned into a frown as he turned away from them.  
  
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LUNCH~ with The "Hero Trio"  
  
"Did you see that guy in the halls?" Said Hermione, "He acted like some Malfoy character, except with brown hair, a cane and green eyes!"  
  
"Definitely." Replied Harry, "I have a feeling Malfoy's going to have some competition from this bastard."  
  
"Oh no! Not a clash of the rich snobs?!" said Ron with worry.  
  
"Well Malfoy isn't rich anymore... so you can't really say that." Hermione added a technicality.  
  
"Same attitude though. But maybe this could be a good thing. Malfoy's going to have to get a dose of his own medicine." Added Harry.  
  
"Haha! Yes! Everything we've been waiting for! Revenge on Malfoy!" celebrated Ron.  
  
Even Hermione couldn't help but smile.  
  
"But wait-" interrupted Harry, "What if this guy is nice to us? I mean he may seem like a strutting braggart, but I mean he's a Hufflepuff. He shouldn't be big enough of a git to match up with Malfoy."  
  
"So the match of the century is cancelled?" Whined Ron with the smirk ripped off his face.  
  
"No, not cancelled. Postponed until further notice." Grinned Harry.  
  
"Yay!"  
  
"What's so great Ron Huh Huh Huh?!?!" A girl with Purple Hair and Brown eyes popped up behind Ron and almost gave him a heart attack. Well, not a heart attack, but it knocked him off of his chair.  
  
"WHO ARE YOU?!?!?!" Ron squealed.  
  
"I'm Tracea pronounced Tray-see-uh Ashiko yesyesyes!!!!" The girl nodded her head so fiercely it looked like it would fall off.  
  
"GET... AWAY... FROM... ME!!!!!!" Ron yelled.  
  
"Awwwwww! That's so mean!!! YesYesYes it is!" Tracea cackled.  
  
Ron bolted out the door as fast as his legs could withstand. The Tracea girl put on a pouting face and ran back to the Ravenclaw table.  
  
"That was effing scary!" exclaimed Harry. Hermione nodded, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.  
  
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Meanwhile at Lunch with the Slytherins....  
  
"So, Val. You haven't managed to find a date YET?" Pansy teased, her eyes pasted with a ton of hot pink eye shadow glimmered with malice.  
  
Val shrugged off Parkinson's taunts, "No, no I haven't."  
  
"Well you ought to find one soon, I mean if you don't, you'll be stuck all alone." She wiped an imaginary tear from her cheek.  
  
"How would you know? Been talking with Trelawney have you?" Val laughed, "I didn't think she was your type."  
  
"Hmph!" Pansy tilted her pimply face up and walked away, her permed hair dragging behind her.  
  
Val snickered, "Look at her! She looks like a little kid playing dress up with her mother's clothes and make up!"  
  
Blaise giggled and nodded, "Definitely, and what's really funny is that she thinks that she's all beautiful"  
  
Val suddenly stopped laughing as her hand plunged through her pocket. Her eyes widened a bit.  
  
"What Val? What's wrong with you?" Blaise asked, waving her hand around Val's face.  
  
"You know that note we were passing during Transfiguration?"  
  
"...Yeah... What about it?" Blaise blinked.  
  
"It's not in my pocket anymore... it must have slipped out or something..." Val answered.  
  
"Holy- What if someone finds it?!??!"  
  
"My thoughts exactly." Val said, "But where could I have dropped it? When Weasley and Draco were fighting?"  
  
"Probably!" Blaise answered hurriedly, "Let's go!!!"  
  
And with that, they ran out of the great hall.  
  
They were running just about break-neck speed, when they ran into- who'd have guessed- Weasley!  
  
"Hey- you- Weasley!" Spurted Blaise, in mid- dash, "Have you spotted- a note of any sort on the ground??"  
  
"uhh....no...?" Answered Ron, panting his heart out.  
  
"CRAP!" Val exclaimed, "We've been searching for about an hour now... SHIT!!! We're supposed to be at Care of Magical Creatures right now!!!!!"  
  
"Eek!" Blaise let out a yelp and ran to the common room, Val close behind her.  
  
And there sat Marcus Flint, squinting at an Arithmancy textbook.  
  
"Dammit! It's you!" exclaimed Blaise.  
  
"Flint, have you seen a note on the floor or something?" Val asked politely, as if she had never cursed Marcus Flint's name in her entire life.  
  
"Oh I saw a note alright!" Spat Flint angrily, not looking up at her and concentrating solely on the textbook.  
  
Val and Blaise looked at each other in terror and looked back at Marcus, "YOU READ IT????"  
  
"Yep, insults and all. I never knew you could be such an insensitive BITCH, Val." He answered, suppressed anger shaking his voice as if he were a huge volcano about to erupt.  
  
"I... I...didn't-" Val stuttered.  
  
"Don't lie to me, you're just like every other git in this school. I don't want to even bother talking to you. Get the hell OUT! NOW!" He pointed his finger at the door.  
  
Both Val and Blaise grabbed their books and ran out.  
  
Blaise laughed, "Well not even Flint's going to the ball with you now!"  
  
"Shut up." Val muttered. She was actually starting to regret the things she said about Flint, his life was already bad enough as it is... wasn't it? But to regret was what Flint wanted, and she was not about to give in.  
  
"DAMN YOU BLONDIE!" Shouted a voice in the hall- it was that Will guy, "YOU'VE CURSED ME WITH NO DATES, HAVEN'T YOU! NO ONE WILL GO WITH ME!!!!"  
  
"Nope, but it'd be awesome if I did... and what is with EVERYONE GETTING MAD AT ME!?! FIRST FLINT-" Blaise put a hand over Val's shouting mouth, the last thing they needed was more attention.  
  
"Oh! Oh!" Yelled Padma Patil, "I'll go with you Mr. Rich Guy!!!"  
  
"Ah! Well it seems the curse has been broken! See ya' round, Blondie!" He said Jauntily as he skipped over to Patil.  
  
"What a little BUGGER." Val spat under her breath.  
  
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Care of Magical Creatures... Slytherin and Gryffindor  
  
"Come 'un round 'ere 'yall," said Hagrid, "Today we're studyin' Flarfs."  
  
This animal had such an unusual name; even Hermione didn't know what it was...  
  
"Flarfs?? What in the name of dear god is a FLARF?!" Val burst. The Slytherins cackled.  
  
"This is!" answered Hagrid, holding up something that resembled a cockroach, except coated with an orange material that looked like SPONGE. Both the Slytherins and some of the Gryffindors slammed their heads into their desks.  
  
"Oh no, he's probably going to have us study them for a year!" Parkinson groaned.  
  
"I will if 'ye complain summore, Parkinson." Hagrid said dully. There was silence from the Slytherins.  
  
"Now if 'yall will break up inter' pairs we'll work faster." He ordered. Immediately everyone found a partner, they wanted to work with these weird creatures no longer than they had to.  
  
"Now I'm gunna give each of 'yer pairs a crate of these 'fellers." Hagrid said joyfully, carrying the crates of these repulsive insectoids. Blaise screamed.  
  
"Thare's no reason teh' be 'fraid, now." Hagrid tried to reassure, but to no avail. He set down a crate at each bench they were sitting on.  
  
"Now teh' trick to them is tha' ya have te' take hold of thar stingers-"  
  
"They have STINGERS?! Vat kind ov klass is this?!" Val burst...again. The Slytherins and partial Gryffindors called out their agreements, some surprised at Val's weird accent.  
  
"She sounds like Viktor." Hermione whispered to Harry fondly, almost as if the very thought of Viktor made her nicer.  
  
"Maybe she only sounds like that when she gets angry or something." Harry said.  
  
"'Ye had better lern to shut 'yer face, Miss.. err..." Hagrid tried to remember the Bulgarian transfer's name.  
  
"Lethon." She said bluntly.  
  
"Miss Lethin', or I'll send 'yer big Bulgarian accented face 'teh Dumbledore!" Hagrid finished awkwardly. Val sat fuming back next to Blaise.  
  
"Now wunce yeh've gotten hold of thar stingers, ya pull it off- like this, see?" He held up a Flarf with its stinger removed, almost crushing the creature.  
  
"After that, yeh can put 'em in these pools 'ere." He motioned to some large pools of water beside him, "'cause of teh' sponge on thar' bodies, they can swim."  
  
The entire class decided to start on the disgusting work....  
  
"OW! It stung me!!!" Cried Goyle.  
  
"Jus' get a bandage or sumtin when yall get back in teh school." Hagrid said.  
  
"OH MY GOD! IT BURNS!!!!!!" Goyle screamed.  
  
"I said, wait teh get a bandage."  
  
"AAHH!!! I THINK MY ARM'S COMING OFF!!!"  
  
"Goyle, stop puttin' on a show for yer classmates." Hagrid Grunted.  
  
"OH MY GOD!!! PUSS IS COMING OUT OF IT! OW OW OW OW OW OW OWWW!!!!" Goyle was hopping around the benches clutching his arm. Both the Slytherins and Gryffindors were laughing. The Slytherins because they knew he was faking, and the Gryffindors because seeing Goyle dance around in pain was quite funny.  
  
Hagrid finally got up and checked Goyle's arm.  
  
"I can' believe this, I jus' told yeh to stop puttin' on a show for yer classmates, and now yeh refuse teh listen teh me. Five points from Slytherin."  
  
The Slytherins groaned, this was going to be a LONG class for them...  
  
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Val and Blaise began to get dressed for the ball...  
  
"Oh my god, this is it! I hope I have as good a time as last." Said Blaise with a grin, brushing her sleek black hair.  
  
"Right." Val murmured as she threw on her dress robes. They were tight fitting, and were black with silver mesh cascading over it. She had her hair up in the same old ponytail, with the two snitches of bangs hanging down near her chin.  
  
"Well I mean come on, you can't be that bummed out- OH MY GOD, PANSY- WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!" Blaise almost screamed in terror.  
  
It was the most horrifying sight in the entire history of Hogwarts, counting the Basilisk, Voldemort, and Draco Malfoy as a ferret.  
  
Pansy was dressed up in bright tacky pink robes Covered COMPLETELY in bows and lace, Her permed hair had an assorted disorganized number of bows tangled in it, along with a mass of hair gel. She grinned at them.  
  
"What's wrong girls? You look like you just saw the Dark Lord in a tutu!" Pansy giggled. It was unnerving.  
  
"Well, in a manner of speaking, we have! And he's standing right in front of us!" Val remarked, annoyed. Pansy glared at her.  
  
"Pansy, please, take those ugh- I think you can call them robes- off! Let me get some ones you can use..." Blaise tried to help, "And your hair-"  
  
"Is fine! And so are my robes! I have not the slightest clue of what's so bad about them!" Pansy said, offended.  
  
Blaise rolled her eyes, "Have it your way."  
  
Val snickered while throwing on some lip-gloss. Pansy growled and walked out the door.  
  
"That... was disturbing." Stated Val.  
  
"Um.. yeah."  
  
MEANWHILE....  
  
"Are you coming, Draco?" Asked Crabbe dully.  
  
"...I don't know. I mean what would be the point?" he asked.  
  
"To have fun! I mean the ball wouldn't be complete without you! We could pull pranks on Potter-" Goyle Chimed in.  
  
"What about Marcus?" Asked Malfoy, "Is he coming?"  
  
"NO! I AM NOT GOING TO THE GOD-FORSAKEN BALL!" They heard Marcus yelling to someone from the other room.  
  
"Well there's the answer to THAT question." Draco said. Goyle and Crabbe snickered as if they were on cue.  
  
Draco sighed and headed out the door.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^  
  
"Hey Harry! I still can't believe Lavender asked you!" Grinned Ron. Harry nodded.  
  
"Well did you get a date while I had my back turned, Ron?" Harry asked, smirking.  
  
Ron Grinned ear to ear.  
  
"Who?! Who is it??" Harry asked repeatedly.  
  
"Haha! Well I'm going to keep you in suspense, just like Hermione!" Ron laughed, his new red velvet dress robes (bought by George and Fred) shaking along with him as he laughed.  
  
"Oh come on!" Harry said, "It couldn't be Padma, she's going with that Will guy!"  
  
"I'm stiiiiill not telling!!"  
  
"Pleeese??"  
  
On the other side of the Gryffindor tower....  
  
"Ohmygod, I can't believe I got a date- With Harry Potter!!!" squealed Lavender to Parvati. They were both jumping up and down on the bed, giggling- to Hermione's annoyance.  
  
The door burst open- it was Ginny, "Can you two stop jumping on the bed??? Some of us fourth years want to get ready for the ball too!!" She spurted. Parvati and Lavender stuck out their tongues at her.  
  
"Soooo Hermione! Are you going with anyone this time??" asked Lavender slyly.  
  
"Well, yes..." Hermione answered, the blush on her face glowing brighter with every passing second.  
  
"Who??????" Lavender and Parvati asked at the same exact time, and then collapsed in a fit of giggles.  
  
"Well, I guess you'll find out!" Hermione Grinned, and turned back to brushing her hair vigorously.  
  
"I heard that Hannah Abbot's going with Neville! Isn't that sweet???" Lavender giggled... AGAIN.  
  
"Oooh! And I think Ginny's going with this really hot Ravenclaw guy!" Parvati countered Lavender's giggles with her own... AGAIN.  
  
"Too bad that transfer doesn't have a date! Stupid Slytherin!" Lavender rolled her eyes and GIGGLED.  
  
Hermione turned around, her amethyst robes flowing behind her. It was time- to party. 


End file.
